Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV)
announced today that the Company flew 2.6 billion revenue passenger miles
(RPMs) in September 2001, a 21.6 percent decrease from the 3.3 billion RPMs
flown in September 2000.  Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 3.6 percent to
4.8 billion from the September 2000 level of 5.0 billion.  The load factor for
the month was 53.4 percent, compared to 65.7 percent for the same period last
year.

Southwest`s September 2001 traffic results were severely impacted by the
September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.  The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) immediately suspended all commercial airline flights.  On
September 14, 2001, the Company resumed flight operations and was operating
its normal schedule by September 18, 2001.  Prior to September 11, Southwest
operated approximately 2,800 daily flights, which is the same number the
Company operates today.  Since September 18, 2001, the Company has maintained
its excellent reliability record, with over 93 percent of its flights
operating ontime for the period September 18 through September 30.  The
Company also experienced minimal cancellations of less than one percent during
that same period.

Southwest`s load factor averaged 66.8 percent for the period from
September 1 to September 10 and 45.4 percent for the period from September 14
through September 30.  For the weeks ended September 23 and September 30, the
weekly load factors averaged 38.5 percent and 52.4 percent, respectively.
Bookings for the week ended September 23 were approximately 60 percent below
normal targets; however, bookings for the week ended September 30 improved and
were only 10-15 percent below normal targets.  Southwest`s traffic continues
to show signs of improvement based on recent daily bookings; therefore, the
Company believes load factors will improve further this week ending
October 7, 2001.  The Company cannot accurately predict whether load factors
will continue to improve or return to normal levels in fourth quarter 2001.
 
Southwest is currently in discussions with The Boeing Company regarding
aircraft delivery dates.  The Boeing 737-700 aircraft scheduled for delivery
from September 11 through December 31, 2001 have not been placed in the
Southwest flight schedule.  As a result, minor schedule adjustments have been
made to allow Southwest to begin service to Norfolk on October 7, 2001 and to
add other scheduled service previously announced.
 
As of September 10, 2001, Southwest had over $1 billion of cash on hand.
On September 12, 2001, the Company accessed an additional $475 million in cash
from an existing bank line of credit.  Pursuant to the Air Transportation
Safety and System Stabilization Act, Southwest received its first installment
of $144 million to compensate for direct, as well as incremental losses from
the terrorist attack, resulting in cash on hand of approximately $1.5 billion
on September 30, 2001.  If losses continue, Southwest expects to receive
additional federal compensation of a similar amount during fourth quarter
2001.  Southwest is taking every step possible to preserve its cash position,
including today`s decision to change its commission policy to pay a five
percent commission on all Southwest tickets issued by travel agents beginning
October 15, 2001.
 
For the third quarter 2001, Southwest flew 11.3 billion RPMs, compared to
the 11.0 billion RPMs recorded for the same period of 2000, an increase of
2.7 percent.  Available seat miles increased 6.4 percent to 16.3 billion from
the third quarter 2000 level of 15.3 billion.  The third quarter 2001 load
factor was 69.1 percent, compared to 71.6 percent for the same period last
year.
 
For the first nine months of 2001, Southwest flew 33.7 billion RPMs,
compared to the 31.4 billion RPMs recorded for the same period in 2000, an
increase of 7.4 percent.  Available seat miles increased 9.9 percent to
48.6 billion from the 2000 level of 44.2 billion.  The year-to-date load
factor was 69.4 percent, compared to 71.0 percent for the same period last
year.
 
Southwest Airlines Co. will conduct a conference call to discuss its
September traffic today at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  A live broadcast of the
conference call will be available via the Southwest Airlines Internet site at
http://www.southwest.com .

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