Morris says big airlines losing money because of “union contracts”

From the May 12 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Hey Dick, a lot of people want to know how this is going to affect the traveler -- those who take rail, those who fly. How could this affect rates and efficiency?

MORRIS: Well, I think the main effect is going to be that it's going to drive a lot of the airlines over the brink. Unionization has been very tough on these airlines. And one of the reasons discount airlines are doing well and the big ones are losing money is because of those union contracts. And this will probably just worsen that.

Southwest has turned a profit for 37 straight years

From a January 21 Associated Press article citing a Southwest press release:

Flying against the headwinds of a recession and volatile fuel prices, Southwest Airlines Co. made money in the fourth quarter and extended its string of annual profits to 37 years.

Southwest said Thursday it earned $116 million in the quarter, which was enough to lift the company to a full-year profit of $99 million after it lost money during the first nine months of 2009.

Traffic on the nation's largest discount carrier has been rising in recent months while it's been falling on many competitors.

Southwest carried most passengers in 2009 for third straight year

According to data released by the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Southwest Airlines “carried more total system passengers in 2009 than any other U.S. airline for the third consecutive year.”

Southwest “is about 83 percent unionized”

According to a Southwest Airlines Fact Sheet (updated March 14, 2010):

The airline is about 83 percent* unionized.
(*This percentage represents a total Employee headcount of fulltime and parttime, active and inactive Employees who are unionized.)