Dallas-based carrier Southwest Airlines Co. managed to squeeze out a second-quarter profit of $741 million despite the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max Aircraft.
Southwest also announced it's pulling service at Newark International Airport, consolidating its New York City presence at LaGuardia Airport, one of three major New York City airports, as it extends its max-related cancellations through January 5. The move takes effect in early November.
Southwest Airlines released the following statement:
"It’s never our desire to leave any community that we serve, but Southwest has made the difficult decision to discontinue service at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) effective Sunday, November 3. This was not an easy decision to make, but we must optimize our aircraft and resources to meet customer demand in other markets. All Southwest Employees at Newark are being offered positions at New York’s LaGuardia Airport or being allowed to bid for other open positons anywhere in the Southwest network. We want to thank Newark, and the surrounding community, for welcoming us for the past eight years, and we look forward to serving our EWR Customers through November with the same Southwest Hospitality they know and love."
On a per-share basis, the Dallas-based company said it had net income of $1.37, in a report Thursday.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.35 per share.
The airline posted revenue of $5.91 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.93 billion.
Southwest shares have increased 18% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 20%. The stock has increased slightly more than 5% in the last 12 months.