US AID LIFTS SOUTHWEST TO Q1 PROFIT, AMERICAN LOSES $1.25B

With a strong push from taxpayers, Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to report a profit since the pandemic started, and airlines executives say that the worst of the pandemic caused crisis for their industry appears to be over.

Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said that his airline has seen steady improvement in U.S. leisure-travel sales since mid-February. He credited rising vaccinations and falling new cases of COVID-19.

“While the pandemic is not over, we believe the worst is behind us, in terms of the severity of the negative impact on travel demand,” Kelly said.

American Airlines posted another large loss, but its CEO also sounded upbeat heading into the peak summer-travel season, when airlines usually earn most of their money. The airline is aggressively expanding its schedule for summer and recalling employees from leave.

“We are starting to see light at the end of this very dark tunnel,” Doug Parker, who is also American’s chairman, said on a call with analysts.