Southwest traffic hurt by war, April view unclear=20 =20 Thursday April 3, 6:59 AM EST=20 NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) on Thursday said March traffic was hurt by the war in Iraq and the late timing of Easter and said the war makes it impossible to predict April results. Southwest, the low-cost carrier that has managed to remain among the few profitable U.S. airlines, said its load factor in March fell 2.9 percentage points to 67.3 percent from 70.2 percent a year earlier. Airlines around the globe have seen a precipitous drop in business since the war's onset. Traffic has taken another body blow from the recent outbreak of SARS, an infectious pneumonia-like illness that has prompted health officials around the world to warn against travel to many parts of Asia. "Prior to the war, bookings for April travel were good," Southwest Chief Executive James Parker said. "Since the war began, booking trends have been inconsistent." "Uncertainties created by the war with Iraq render it impossible to predict future bookings and traffic," Parker said. "At this point, we cannot predict how April's load factor will compare to last year's performance of 66.3 percent."=20 =A92003 Reuters Limited.=20 RELATED QUOTES SymbolLast TradeChange LUV=20 15.02=20 +0.84=20 Enter one or more symbols =20 Quotes delayed up to 20 minutes.=20 Click here to email this