DALLAS, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today reported its September, third quarter, and year-to-date preliminary traffic statistics. The Company flew 9.2 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in September 2015, an 11.4 percent increase from the 8.3 billion RPMs flown in September 2014. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 8.4 percent to 11.1 billion in September 2015, compared with the September 2014 level of 10.3 billion. The September 2015 load factor was a record for the month of September at 82.7 percent, compared with 80.5 percent in September 2014.

For the third quarter of 2015, the Company flew 31.1 billion RPMs, compared with 28.5 billion RPMs flown for the same period in 2014, an increase of 8.9 percent. Third quarter 2015 ASMs increased 7.6 percent to a level of 36.4 billion, compared with third quarter 2014 ASMs of 33.8 billion. The third quarter 2015 load factor was a quarterly record at 85.4 percent, compared with 84.4 percent for the same period in 2014. The Company continues to expect its third quarter 2015 operating revenue per ASM (RASM) to decrease approximately 1.0 percent, compared with third quarter 2014.

For the first nine months of 2015, the Company flew 87.8 billion RPMs, compared with 81.3 billion RPMs flown for the same period in 2014, an increase of 8.0 percent. Year-to-date 2015 ASMs increased 6.9 percent to a level of 105.1 billion, compared with 98.4 billion for the same period in 2014. The year-to-date 2015 load factor was 83.5 percent, compared with 82.6 percent for the same period in 2014.

This release, as well as past news releases about Southwest Airlines Co., is available online at Southwest.com.



                          Southwest Airlines Co.

                Preliminary Comparative Traffic Statistics


                                SEPTEMBER
                                ---------

                                    2015                          2014    Change
                                    ----                          ----    ------

     Revenue
     passengers
     carried                   9,421,347                     8,638,582            9.1%

     Enplaned
     passengers               11,536,417                    10,556,294            9.3%

     Revenue
     passenger
     miles
     (000s)                    9,206,955                     8,267,245           11.4%

     Available
     seat
     miles
     (000s)                   11,133,628                    10,274,379            8.4%

    Load
     factor                        82.7%                        80.5%  2.2 pts.

     Average
     length
     of
     haul                            977                           957            2.1%

    Trips
     flown                       101,467                        99,488            2.0%


                           THIRD QUARTER
                           -------------

                                    2015                          2014    Change
                                    ----                          ----    ------

     Revenue
     passengers
     carried                  30,559,019                    28,391,882            7.6%

     Enplaned
     passengers               37,765,903                    35,255,248            7.1%

     Revenue
     passenger
     miles
     (000s)                   31,052,660                    28,522,164            8.9%

     Available
     seat
     miles
     (000s)                   36,360,340                    33,785,824            7.6%

    Load
     factor                        85.4%                        84.4%  1.0 pts.

     Average
     length
     of
     haul                          1,016                         1,005            1.1%

    Trips
     flown                       325,301                       319,250            1.9%


                            YEAR-TO-DATE
                            ------------

                                    2015                          2014    Change
                                    ----                          ----    ------

     Revenue
     passengers
     carried                  87,802,757                    82,602,805            6.3%

     Enplaned
     passengers              107,535,145                   101,701,969            5.7%

     Revenue
     passenger
     miles
     (000s)                   87,771,907                    81,267,478            8.0%

     Available
     seat
     miles
     (000s)                  105,133,835                    98,356,618            6.9%

    Load
     factor                        83.5%                        82.6%  0.9 pts.

     Average
     length
     of
     haul                          1,000                           984            1.6%

    Trips
     flown                       948,180                       946,231            0.2%

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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.