ORLANDO, Fla. (May 6, 2011) – AirTran Airways, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines, Co. (NYSE: LUV) today reported traffic for the month of April*. The airline reported that revenue passenger miles (RPMs) were up 7.8 percent from the same period in 2010, while available seat miles (ASMs) grew by 9.3 percent.

For April 2011, traffic grew to more than 1.7 billion RPMs, which is a record for the month of April. The airline's load factor in April 2011 was 80.8 percent, a 1.1 percentage point decrease from the same period last year.

AirTran Airways
(Preliminary)
	April 2011	April 2010	Change
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)	1,763,254	1,636,226	7.8 percent
Available Seat Miles (000)	2,182,521	1,996,874	9.3 percent
Load Factor	80.8 percent	81.9 percent	-1.1 points
Passengers Enplaned	2,129,182	2,077,400	2.5 percent
	Y-T-D 2011	Y-T-D 2010	Change
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)	6,293,699	6,027,028	4.4 percent
Available Seat Miles (000)	7,954,297	7,681,334	3.6 percent
Load Factor	79.1 percent	78.5 percent	0.6 points
Passengers Enplaned	7,733,903	7,603,808	1.7 percent

*AirTran Airways, Inc., became a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. as of May 2, 2011. The traffic results reported in this release will not be included in the consolidated 2011 traffic results to be reported by Southwest Airlines Co.

AirTran has been ranked the top airline in the Airline Quality Rating study twice in the past four years. AirTran is the only major airline with Gogo Inflight Internet on every flight and offers coast-to-coast service on North America’s newest all-Boeing fleet. AirTran’s low-cost, high-quality product also includes assigned seating, Business Class and complimentary SiriusXM Satellite Radio on every flight. To book a flight, visit airtran.com.