As Spring Break Approaches, Southwest Airlines Prepares For a Surge In Demand

(CTN News) – In the spring break travel season, Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, plans to operate over 4,000 flights per day on peak days. In eleven countries, low-cost carrier operates a network of more than 120 airports.

It follows the airline’s announcement of its 2022 fourth-quarter results, which showed a net loss of $220 million. According to Southwest Airlines, despite the loss, the company’s Spring break travel demand is strong.

Profits are expected to be solid in the coming year

As a result of the operational disruptions in December 2022, the airline experienced an increase in flight cancellations in January and February. Southwest Airlines President and CEO, Bob Jordan, anticipates a loss for the first quarter of 2023, but remains optimistic about solid profits during Spring Break.

Increasing the number of employees

Southwest Airlines was reported to be the first airline to return to pre-pandemic staffing levels in June 2022 after hiring more than 10,000 new employees last year. Nearly 1,500 new employees have been hired this year to support the airline’s passengers, flight schedule, and operations.

The airline ranked second in on-time performance last month and third in January, which it said is a significant step towards returning to historical levels of reliability.

According to the airline, leisure booking and yield trends for March 2023 appear to be strong and are in line with its expectations at the time of its Investor Day in early December 2022.

As a result of recent improvements in close-in booking trends, the Company is currently expecting managed business revenues in March 2023 to be comparable to those in March 2019.

Additionally, the airline continues to receive Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which will assist with the Spring break surge.

A total of 30 new aircraft are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2016, while 27 737-700 aircraft are scheduled for retirement this year, including five in the Southwest Airlines first quarter. It is expected that by the end of 2023, the airline will have a fleet of 843 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Are you planning to change the boarding process?

Southwest Airlines is also reportedly planning to make changes to its boarding procedure in preparation for the anticipated influx of passengers. Several methods have been tested at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in order to speed up the process of boarding and disembarking passengers.

Four of the airline’s 18 gates at the busy airport are being used for field-testing new ideas by its innovation team, according to The Street.

Several improvements to stanchions have been made to speed up boarding, and self-service kiosks have been installed at the gate to allow gate agents to focus on more important matters.

On the Innovation test, our boarding stanchion elements feature integrated screens that display gate information, announcements, and boarding instructions,” the airline told The Street.

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