Southwest Airlines posts 37th consecutive annual profit
“Flat is the new up,” Southwest Chair & CEO Gary Kelly told analysts yesterday in reporting a USD116 million profit in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the USD56 million loss for the previous corresponding period. For the full year, the airline earned USD99 million, a 44.4% drop from 2008, its 37th consecutive year of profitability. “We did better than the Wall Street estimate and certainly better than what we thought 6-8 months ago,” Mr Kelly concluded.
