Late-summer COVID surge hurt Southwest Airline’s 3Q earnings

Staffing challenges resulting from the surge successful COVID-19 cases successful the precocious summertime wounded Southwest Airlines’ third-quarter earnings, the institution reported Thursday.

“Our progressive (versus inactive) and disposable staffing fell beneath program and, on with different factors, caused america to miss our operational on-time show targets, and that created further outgo headwinds,” Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said successful a quality release. “The nett effect, including a gross punishment of $300 cardinal owed to the COVID-19 surge, was a nonaccomplishment of $135 million, excluding peculiar items.”

The late-summer problems came anterior to abstracted issues Southwest, McCarran International Airport’s busiest commercialized aerial carrier, experienced earlier this period erstwhile hundreds of flights were canceled. The hose cited aerial postulation power and upwind issues for those problems connected the play of Oct. 9-10.

Southwest has flown 8.6 cardinal passengers to and from Las Vegas successful the archetypal 8 months of 2021, a 27.6 percent diminution from the aforesaid play successful 2020.

Kelly indicated Southwest is moving to lick staffing problems up of the engaged vacation season.

“We person reined successful our capableness plans to set to the existent staffing environment, and our on-time show has improved, accordingly,” Kelly said. “We are aggressively hiring to a extremity of astir 5,000 caller employees by the extremity of this year, and we are presently much than halfway toward that goal. Our 2022 capableness readying reflects much blimpish staffing assumptions, arsenic well, each compared to humanities norms.”

This is simply a processing story. Check backmost for updates.

Contact Richard N. Velotta astatine rvelotta@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta connected Twitter.