OREANDA-NEWS. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today reported its November and year-to-date preliminary traffic statistics. The Company flew 9.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in November 2015, a 13.9 percent increase from the 8.6 billion RPMs flown in November 2014. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 9.7 percent to 11.7 billion in November 2015, compared with the November 2014 level of 10.7 billion. The November 2015 load factor was a record for the month of November at 83.2 percent, compared with 80.1 percent in November 2014. Based on these results and current trends, the Company estimates its fourth quarter 2015 operating revenue per ASM (RASM) will be approximately flat to down 1.0 percent, compared with fourth quarter 2014.

For the eleven months ended November 2015, the Company flew 107.5 billion RPMs, compared with 98.8 billion RPMs flown for the same period in 2014, an increase of 8.8 percent. Year-to-date 2015 ASMs increased 7.2 percent to a level of 128.4 billion, compared with 119.9 billion for the same period in 2014. The year-to-date load factor was 83.7 percent, compared with 82.4 percent for the same period in 2014.