Southwest says 'seriously considering' cutting flights in short term

By Tracy Rucinski

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Southwest Airlines (N:), one of the few U.S. airlines still flying a full schedule even as the spreading coronavirus has sapped demand, said on Saturday it was “seriously considering” cutting flights in the short term.

Southwest spokeswoman Michelle Agnew said the company would monitor demand for additional reductions after a first round of cuts, which one source familiar with the matter said could be announced by Wednesday.

Agnew said the company did not have any more details to share at this time.

The low-cost carrier does not fly to any of the destinations that have been affected by health alerts and a growing list of U.S. travel restrictions as coronavirus cases climb worldwide.

However, the airline had already warned that the epidemic could wipe up to $300 million from its first-quarter operating revenue, with Chief Executive Gary Kelly warning earlier this month that reducing prices would not address consumer fear.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.