DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today reported its August and year-to-date preliminary traffic statistics.

The Company flew 10.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in August 2016, an increase of 3.6 percent from the 10.3 billion RPMs flown in August 2015. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 4.6 percent to 12.7 billion in August 2016, as compared with August 2015 ASMs of 12.1 billion. The August 2016 load factor was 84.6 percent, as compared with 85.4 percent in August 2015. Based on these results and current trends, the Company continues to expect its third quarter 2016 operating revenue per ASM (RASM) to decline in the 3.5 to 4.5 percent range, as compared with third quarter 2015, with approximately 0.5 point of the decline resulting from the Company's July 2016 technology outage.

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

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to the Company's financial outlook and projected results of operations. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. Factors include, among others, (i) changes in demand for the Company's services and other changes in consumer behavior; (ii) the impact of economic conditions, fuel prices, actions of competitors, and other factors beyond the Company's control, on the Company's business; (iii) the Company's ability to timely and effectively maintain the necessary information technology systems and infrastructure to support its operations and initiatives; (iv) the impact of governmental regulations and other governmental actions related to the Company's operations; (v) the impact of labor matters on the Company's business; and (vi) other factors, as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.





                          Southwest Airlines Co.

                Preliminary Comparative Traffic Statistics


                                  AUGUST
                                  ------

                                     2016                        2015     Change
                                     ----                        ----     ------

     Revenue
     passengers
     carried                   10,507,186                  10,095,376              4.1%

     Enplaned
     passengers                12,919,768                  12,600,993              2.5%

     Revenue
     passenger
     miles
     (000s)                    10,711,587                  10,342,510              3.6%

     Available
     seat
     miles
     (000s)                    12,665,121                  12,105,854              4.6%

    Load
     factor                         84.6%                      85.4%  (0.8) pts.

     Average
     length
     of
     haul                           1,019                       1,024            (0.5)%

    Trips
     flown                        112,266                     108,817              3.2%



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

                                     2016                        2015     Change
                                     ----                        ----     ------

     Revenue
     passengers
     carried                   82,564,316                  78,381,410              5.3%

     Enplaned
     passengers               100,657,455                  95,998,728              4.9%

     Revenue
     passenger
     miles
     (000s)                    83,493,201                  78,564,952              6.3%

     Available
     seat
     miles
     (000s)                    99,577,670                  94,000,207              5.9%

    Load
     factor                         83.8%                      83.6%   0.2 pts.

     Average
     length
     of
     haul                           1,011                       1,002              0.9%

    Trips
     flown                        875,874                     846,713              3.4%

SW-T

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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.