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October 21 , 2021 Southwest Southwest Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results DALLAS , Oct. 21 , 2021 / PRNewswire / -- Southwest Airlines Co. ( NYSE : LUV ) ( the " Company " ) today reported its third quarter 2021 financial results : • Third quarter net income of $ 446 million , or $ .73 per diluted share , driven by a $ 763 million offset of salaries , wages , and benefits expenses related to the receipt of Payroll Support Program ( PSP ) proceeds under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Excluding special items 1 , third quarter net loss of $ 135 million , or $ .23 loss per diluted share • Third quarter operating revenues of $ 4.7 billion , down 17.0 percent compared with third quarter 2019 • Ended third quarter with liquidity² of $ 17.0 billion , well in excess of debt outstanding of $ 11.2 billion Gary C. Kelly , Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer , stated , " Third quarter 2021 was a challenge for us , operationally . Despite the deceleration of traffic in August and September due to surging COVID - 19 cases , the third quarter 2021 demand and revenue performance was quite strong and a dramatic improvement from a year ago . That was a bright and encouraging sign of recovery , and I was especially pleased with July's revenue and profit performance . We were aggressive with our capacity plans for third quarter 2021 , coming close to pre - pandemic third quarter 2019 available seat miles . Our active ( versus inactive ) and available staffing fell below plan and , along with other factors , caused us to miss our operational ontime performance targets , and that created additional cost headwinds . The net effect , including a revenue penalty of $ 300 million due to the COVID - 19 surge , was a loss of $ 135 million , excluding special items . " We have reined in our capacity plans to adjust to the current staffing environment , and our ontime performance has improved , accordingly . We are aggressively hiring to a goal of approximately 5,000 new Employees by the end of this year , and we are currently more than halfway toward that goal . Our 2022 capacity planning reflects more conservative staffing assumptions , as well , all compared to historical norms . With respect to our fourth quarter 2021 revenue outlook , while there are lingering effects from the summer COVID - 19 surge and recent operational challenges , we are encouraged with renewed momentum in leisure and business traffic , revenues , and bookings — especially over the holidays . Except for higher fuel prices , fourth quarter 2021's overall results are trending better than third quarter 2021 . " I am very proud of our People . They worked especially hard in challenging circumstances . We made good progress in our pandemic recovery in third quarter 2021 , and I expect more in fourth quarter . I'm very excited about the demand recovery and our prospects for 2022 . Our Leadership has an excellent plan with a laser focus on execution . We are in a very strong financial position , and I thank all of our People for their resilience , their resolve , and their devotion to serving our valued Customers . "