DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – Southwest Airlines is warning investors that profits seen in the first and second quarter of 2021 may not be seen in the third quarter due to the impact of highly-contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.
The Dallas-based carrier also predicted its operating revenue for the current quarter to be lower than previously expected.
The Delta variant has caused cases and hospitalizations to spike nationwide. It’s a situation that’s prompted some states and countries to re-impose restrictions which have had an impact on travel.
Carriers have reported a subsequent decrease in bookings and increase in cancellations.
In a recent regulatory filing, Southwest said ” Based on the assumption that COVID-19 cases remain elevated in the near-term and current revenue trends in August continue into September, the company’s current outlook for third quarter 2021 operating revenues has worsened by an estimated three to four points from its previous outlook three weeks ago, compared with third quarter 2019,” it said.
Click here to read the full regulatory filing.
The carrier is not alone in this predicament. Frontier Airlines also lowered its third-quarter forecast last week.
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