Southwest AirlinesIt expects to lose money the first quarter, after bookings and staffing were affected by the omicron version of Covid-19. However, it stated that profits will be available in March and the remainder of the year.

Southwest’s competition Delta Air Lines, United Airlines American AirlinesHowever, earlier this month they also indicated that they believe that the fast-spreading version would slow down a recovery of travel demand. But that spring and Summer bookings are strong.

“While we made significant progress in 2021, the Omicron variant has delayed the demand improvement we were previously expecting in early 2022,” Bob Jordan, Southwest’s executive vice president who takes the reins as CEO on Feb. 1, said in an earnings release. With COVID-19 numbers declining, we believe the worst is behind us. We remain optimistic about revenue and booking trends through March 2022.

Between Christmas Eve and January 1, 2018, more than 21,000 flights were cancelled by airlines. This was due to bad weather, a shortage of crews and an omicron that had spread throughout the workforce and national.

Southwest reported Thursday that business and leisure travel bookings were weaker then expected, which will lead to a decrease in operating revenue of approximately $330million. Southwest anticipates revenue to be 10%-15% lower than the $5.15billion it earned in the first quarter 2019.

Southwest and other airlines offer extra crew members to alleviate staffing shortages.

Also, costs are rising. Southwest stated its expectations that first-quarter costs, including fuel, would rise between 20% and 24% from 2019, compared to a prior estimate of an increase of 10% to 14%. Southwest is reducing its capacity plan for the first quarter. It expects to return 91% of pre-pandemic flight in 2019, compared to a previously estimated 94%.

Like its competitors, Southwest is currently on an hiring spree. It has stated that it plans to hire 8,000 more employees in the coming year than the 5,000 they had last year. In its quarterly release Thursday, Southwest said it would raise starting wages to $17 an hour — up from $15 an hour it set as a floor last year.

Holiday bookings were strong and more than doubled revenue, to $5.05Billion from $2.01Billion in 2020. The result drove the carrier to $68M profit, compared with the $908 million loss for the same period last year.