Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) (the "Company") today reported its October and year-to-date preliminary traffic statistics.

The Company flew 10.7 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in October 2017, an increase of 1.9 percent from the 10.5 billion RPMs flown in October 2016. Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 1.7 percent to 12.4 billion in October 2017, compared with October 2016 ASMs of 12.2 billion. The October 2017 load factor was 85.8 percent, compared with 85.7 percent in October 2016. Based on these results and current trends, the Company continues to expect its fourth quarter 2017 operating revenue per ASM (RASM) to increase in the range of up slightly to 1.5 percent, as compared with fourth quarter 2016.