News Summary: Southwest lifted by higher fares
News Summary: Higher average fares help Southwest post 1Q profit above Wall Street forecasts
HIGHER FARES: The average one-way fare on Southwest Airlines is now $152.29, up 4 percent from $146.72 a year ago.
REVENUE RISING: Higher average prices helped Southwest boost first-quarter revenue 2 percent, to $4.08 billion.
PROFIT SURPRISE: Southwest's net income fell 40 percent compared with a year ago. But stripping out gains in both years from fuel hedging, Southwest improved over 2012 and earned 7 cents per share, beating analysts' forecast of 2 cents per share.
