DALLAS, June 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines
Co. (NYSE: LUV) today reiterated its willingness to meet
with Elliott Investment Management L.P. ("Elliott") to further
discuss the airline's strategy to enhance value for all
Shareholders:
Southwest Airlines maintains an open dialogue
with our Shareholders and values their perspectives related to
enhancing Shareholder value. We were first contacted yesterday by
Elliott.
Our Board and Executive Leadership Team are
thoughtfully reviewing Elliott's letter and presentation and look
forward to further conversations with Elliott to better understand
its view on the Company.
We are confident that Southwest Airlines has the
right strategy, the right plan and the right team in place to drive
long-term value for our Shareholders. We are focused on restoring
our industry-leading financial performance, the successful
execution of our multi-faceted Tactical Action Plan to improve
operational performance announced in first quarter 2023, alongside
recent technology investments and operational resiliency programs
that led to the operation of 99% of scheduled flights in first
quarter 2024. Our ongoing effort to optimize our network is
addressing underperforming markets to better align capacity with
observed passenger demand. We recently implemented a new revenue
management system which, combined with our ongoing review of
transformational initiatives, such as enhancing the Customer
onboard experience, represent tangible steps toward achieving
improvements in our financial and operational performance and
positioning us for sustainable success in an evolving marketplace.
The Company looks forward to sharing additional detail on our plan
at Investor Day in September.
The Southwest Airlines Board of Directors
diligently oversees our strategy and Leadership Team and, based on
the Company's ability to overcome strong headwinds in the past, is
confident in our CEO and Leadership Team's ability to fulfill our
strategy to drive long-term value for all Shareholders, safely and
reliably serve our Customers, create new and exciting career
opportunities for our Employees and serve the interests of all
stakeholders.
In recent years, our Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee has also sought to identify prospective
Directors with a view toward maintaining an effective mix of skills
and experience, introducing fresh perspectives while balancing
continuity, and continuing to strive for diverse representation.
This focus on refreshment has resulted in the appointment of seven
new independent Directors to the Board in the past three years.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements related to(i) the Company's
expectations with respect to long-term value for Shareholders; (ii)
the Company's focus areas, goals, and strategies; (iii) the
Company's expectations with respect to operational performance;
(iv) the Company's plans and expectations with respect to its
network and its network optimization efforts; (v) the Company's
financial outlook, expectations, goals, plans, and projected
results of operations, including with respect to its initiatives,
and including factors and assumptions underlying the Company's
expectations and projections; and (vi) the Company's strategic
initiatives, including with respect to enhancing the Customer
experience, delivering operational excellence, creating meaningful
revenue opportunities, expanding margins, and achieving return on
invested capital. These forward-looking statements are based on the
Company's current estimates, intentions, beliefs, expectations,
goals, strategies, and projections for the future and are not
guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements
involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that
are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to
vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them.
Factors include, among others, (i) the impact of fears or actual
outbreaks of diseases, extreme or severe weather and natural
disasters, actions of competitors, consumer perception, economic
conditions, banking conditions, fears or actual acts of terrorism
or war, sociodemographic trends, and other factors beyond the
Company's control, on consumer behavior and the Company's results
of operations and business decisions, plans, strategies, and
results; (ii) the Company's ability to timely and effectively
implement, transition, and maintain the necessary information
technology systems and infrastructure to support its operations and
initiatives; (iii) the emergence of additional costs or effects
associated with the cancelled flights in December 2022, including litigation, government
investigation and actions, and internal actions; (iv) the Company's
dependence on Boeing and Boeing suppliers with respect to the
Company's aircraft deliveries, fleet and capacity plans,
operations, maintenance, strategies, and goals; (v) the Company's
dependence on Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration with
respect to the certification of the Boeing MAX 7 aircraft; (vi) the
impact of fuel price changes, fuel price volatility, volatility of
commodities used by the Company for hedging jet fuel, and any
changes to the Company's fuel hedging strategies and positions, on
the Company's business plans and results of operations; (vii) the
Company's dependence on other third parties, in particular with
respect to its technology plans, its operational expectations, fuel
supply, maintenance, Global Distribution Systems, and the impact on
the Company's operations and results of operations of any third
party delays or non-performance; (viii) the impact of governmental
regulations and other governmental actions on the Company's
business plans, results, and operations; (ix) the Company's ability
to obtain and maintain adequate infrastructure and equipment to
support its operations and initiatives; (x) the Company's ability
to timely and effectively prioritize its initiatives and focus
areas and related expenditures; (xi) the impact of labor matters on
the Company's business decisions, plans, strategies, and results;
(xii) the Company's dependence on its workforce, including its
ability to employ and retain sufficient numbers of qualified
Employees to effectively and efficiently maintain its operations;
and (xiii) other factors, as described in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the detailed
factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10- K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
Southwest Airlines
Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded
airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121
airports1 across 11 countries. Southwest took
flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable,
and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying
nonstop within the United States
than any other airline2. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first
corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of
no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering
its more than 74,0003 People to deliver
unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a
passionate loyalty among more than 137 million Customers carried in
2023. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity
and 47 consecutive years4 of profitability for
Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique
legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including
harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities
at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting
Southwest.com/citizenship. As the airline with Heart,
Southwest has set a goal to work toward achieving net zero carbon
emissions by 20505. Southwest has also set
near-term targets and a three-pillar strategy to achieve its
environmental goals. Learn more by visiting
Southwest.com/planet.
1 Effective Aug. 5, 2024, the airline will serve 117
airports.
2 Based on U.S. Dept. of
Transportation quarterly Airline Origin & Destination Survey
since Q1 2021
3 Fulltime-equivalent active
Employees
4 1973-2019 annual
profitability
5 Southwest's net
zero by 2050 goal includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Category 3
emissions only and excludes any emissions associated with non-fuel
products and services, such as inflight service items.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.