FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2020 file photo, a Southwest Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for takeoff from Denver International Airport in Denver.
Southwest said Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, that it lost $3.1 billion last year, its first full-year loss since 1972.
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)(AP) – Southwest Airlines Co. said Thursday it lost $3.1 billion in 2020, its first full-year loss since its early days in 1972, and said bookings for early this year have stalled in the face of high numbers of new reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
The Dallas-based airline posted a $908 million loss for the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $514 million in the same quarter last year.
“Travel and tourism industries face an ever-changing environment as the pandemic evolves,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement.