Southwest, profitable again in Q4, expects slow 2022 start

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines posted a narrow $68 million profit for the fourth quarter, aided by full flights during the holidays, but the airline warned Thursday that it expects to lose money in the first three months of 2022.

The rise of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and continuing weak business travel will cut revenue by $330 million and lead to losses in January and February, Southwest said. The airline predicted it will be profitable for the remainder of the the year.

Southwest said 5,000 employees tested positive for COVID-19 during the first three weeks of January, contributing to the roughly 5,700 flights it has canceled so far this month, according to data from FlightAware. The Dallas-based airline said absenteeism has recently declined.

The surge of virus infections also slowed ticket sales and led to more trip cancellations, but those trends have begun to decline. Incoming CEO Robert Jordan said the airline is optimistic about bookings and revenue in March.

The CEOs of JetBlue and Alaska Airlines said they expect travel to rebound this spring and summer, adding to recent comments by Delta, United and American executives that omicron will delay but not derail the industry's recovery.

Airline leaders said the recovery will be uneven and could be sidetracked again by new variants. Southwest will trim first-quarter flights by about 9%, more than previously planned.

“I would have never bet a year ago that this is where we would be here in early 2022,” said Gary Kelly, who will step down as Southwest CEO on Feb. 1 after running the airline for nearly 18 years. “I thought we would have this pandemic beat and behind us, and it's far from that.”

Last month, Kelly questioned the benefit of wearing face masks on planes because, he said, strong air flow and...