Southwest is the USA’s second-largest passenger operator. With a fleet of 800+ Boeing 737s, the carrier’s statistics show that enplaned passengers totaled 175.5 million in 2024. Traffic rose by 2% compared to its prior high in 2023 (despite the average passenger fare increasing by nearly double that rate) and by a tenth compared to before the pandemic in 2019. As traffic rose faster than capacity, the load factor increased to over 80%.