The following data were taken from recent annual reports of Southwest Airlines, which operates a low-fare airline service to more than 50 cities in the United States:

__________________________________Current Year______________ Preceding Year

Interest expense...............................$147,000,000.......................$194,000,000

Income before income tax......................685,000,00......................0 323,000,000

a. Determine the number of times interest charges are earned for the current and preceding years. Round to one decimal place.

b. What conclusions can you draw?