And we thought Continental’s numbers were bad.

Yikes.

Southwest Airlines reported its November traffic numbers this morning. Sitting down?

The airline reported that RPMs declined 8.3% on flat ASM figures. That my friends, translates to a load factor of only 63.2%, down from 69.3% for the same period last year. That is a 6.1 point drop in load factor.

Anyone out there still think that demand is holding steady? Raise that hand higher, I can’t see it.

Not good. Especially with Southwest making the bet earlier this year that people would “book away” from other carriers, preferring to fly with “no fees.”

As usual, Southwest gave no RASM estimates for the month.