DALLAS (AP) - Southwest Airlines Co. said Monday its traffic rose 5.7
percent in April, as the carrier flew more passengers on slightly fuller planes.
April traffic rose to 6.26 billion revenue passenger miles, from 5.92
billion in the same month a year earlier. A revenue passenger mile is a unit
measuring one paying passenger flown one mile.
Capacity increased 5.3 percent to 8.63 billion available seat miles from
8.19 billion in April 2007.
The passenger load factor, an industry measure of occupancy, rose slightly
to 72.6 percent, from 72.3 percent in April 2007.
For the first four months of the year, traffic increased 8.3 percent to
23.85 billion revenue passenger miles, from 22.03 billion a year ago.
Capacity rose 6.1 percent to 33.82 billion available seat miles, from 31.87
billion a year earlier.
The load factor increased 1.4 percentage points to 70.5 percent.
Shares of Southwest Airlines fell 45 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $13 shortly
after the opening bell.
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