Southwest sees Q3 RASM down 5%-7% vs. prior view of down 3%-7%

Sees Q3 ASMs up 12% y/y, with CASM-ex up 3.5%-6.5% y/y. In a regulatory filing, Southwest said “While August 2023 close-in leisure bookings were on the lower-end of the Company’s expectations, modestly impacted by seasonal trends, overall leisure demand and yields continue to remain healthy. Travel demand during Labor Day weekend was strong and produced a record revenue performance for the holiday weekend. Managed business trends continue to perform in line with expectations, and the Company continues to expect overall corporate travel to have a modest underlying year-over-year sequential trend improvement in third quarter 2023 when compared with second quarter 2023. As a result, the Company continues to expect record third quarter operating revenues. The Company continues to deliver a solid operational performance. The Company’s third quarter 2023 completion rate of approximately 99 percent, thus far, is in-line with expectations despite a challenging operating environment. Very strong daily operational performance has, thus far, offset the impact of roughly 1,400 cancellations from extreme weather-related disruptions, including hurricanes Hilary and Idalia, the Maui wildfires, and summer storm activity. As a result, the Company has not made any material revisions to its 2023 capacity plans compared with previous guidance. Furthermore, the Company does not expect the August 2023 weather-related disruptions to have a material impact on its third quarter 2023 financial results.”