Southwest poised to bump Northwest

Bloomberg News

Published June 9, 2008 at 8 p.m.

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Southwest Airlines Co., the discounter that is still adding flights while competitors cut back, is poised to displace Northwest Airlines Corp. as the fifth- largest U.S. carrier by traffic.

Southwest's edge over Northwest in traffic, or miles flown by paying passengers, widened to 2.1 percent through May, based on airline data released last week. Northwest is being bought by Delta Air Lines Inc. in a merger they expect to close this year.

The shift reflects Southwest's ability to keep expanding amid the past year's 95 percent surge in jet fuel. Locking in fuel prices in advance has helped Dallas- based Southwest extend a profit streak dating to 1991, while other airlines shrink operations to save expenses.

• June 10, 2008

  8:54 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  mattpants writes:

  Southwest's profit streak stretches back to 1973, not 1991.

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