why no SWA regional?

[Sticky]

Howdy-

Probably a stupid question, but why is there no Southwest regional? Is it because they don't do the hub-and-spoke thing? Maybe the answer is that they don't need one...?

Mike

 

[YourPilotFriend]

Regional jets are not part of their business model. Changing the model will result in greater costs. SW is at absolute minimum cost.

 

[MED]

Southwest is regional.

 

[skyta]

Southwest is regional.

That is true, they have no international routes what so ever.

 

[SiuDude]

The point of RJs is to feed a mainline's hub and fill up the big jets to London. RJs are meant to be a loss-leader.

 

[captain dad]

Southwest is regional.

Here Here! Seven and Eight leg days or more. Twenty minute turns. People jammed in like a small turboprop.

Yep that's a regional. They just get to keep the money they make as opposed to giving it to some loser with a MBA and no soul.:smash:

 

[wooferdog]

Southwest does have a regional.

It's called the automobile.

 

[Sticky]

Southwest is regional.

I didn't know SAN-BWI-PVD was a regional route.

How come Horizon has been succesfull with their fleet? They only feed Alaska a little bit, right? Plus, they pay pretty well too. Wouldn't a Horizon/Southwest strategy model be good combo?

 

[Sticky]

Southwest does have a regional.

It's called the automobile.

HAH!...

 

[Erlanger]

Skywest has actually approached Southwest to operate RJs for them about 2 years ago but they turned Skywest down and said they were not interested in getting into that sort of thing. But now they seem to be interested and have asked Skywest to put together a presentation and plan on how Skywest and the RJ can be of benefit to Southwest. Either they are seriously interested or just seeing what they can learn from Skywest and take the idea somewhere else or just get their own RJs. (The source, Jerry Atkin in a company newsletter afew months ago)

 

[JimNtexas]

SW uses Jedi minds powers to convince people that being herded like animals into a Darwinian struggle for seats and overhead space on a packed airplane is fun.

I'm not sure another company could maintain the illusion that being treated like cattle is not a lot like, er, being treated like cattle, without the cattle catching on.

 

[Sticky]

SW uses Jedi minds powers to convince people that being herded like animals into a Darwinian struggle for seats and overhead space on a packed airplane is fun.

I'm not sure another company could maintain the illusion that being treated like cattle is not a lot like, er, being treated like cattle, without the cattle catching on.

Clever

 

[Brasilia Flyer]

That is true, they have no international routes what so ever.

Wouldn't it be called domestic then?

 

[shamrock]

I didn't know SAN-BWI-PVD was a regional route.

Why not? The SFO-SLC-XNA-ATL route ASA has is.

 

[CF34-3B1]

That is true, they have no international routes what so ever.

Yet...

 

[Captainzero1]

Ji
SW uses Jedi minds powers to convince people that being herded like animals into a Darwinian struggle for seats and overhead space on a packed airplane is fun.

I'm not sure another company could maintain the illusion that being treated like cattle is not a lot like, er, being treated like cattle, without the cattle catching on.


You are so right Jim.
__________________

 

[relief tube]

Southwest does have a regional.

It's called the automobile.

Exactly!! I know broke friends who'll drive 2 hours to Buffalo just to fly SW for cheaper. And if you've been to Manchester or Providence, you'll notice a lot of Massachussets license plates. Yay for $39 fares!

But they did just lead their first fare increase, so we'll se what happens.

 

[DAS at 10/250]

I seem to have more leg room on SWA than I do on Continental.

 

[$$$4nothin]

ORF-LAS. Not regional. Why do you guys want to ruin another airline with RJ's

 

[Sticky]

I don't think any of us want to ruin an airline. Has Horizon ruined any one? Just wondering why Southwest doesn't have any need for "feeders", while COA with less aircraft, has TONS of feeder routes. Is it because SWA doesn't fly international?

 

[Quimby]

I don't think any of us want to ruin an airline. Has Horizon ruined any one? Just wondering why Southwest doesn't have any need for "feeders", while COA with less aircraft, has TONS of feeder routes. Is it because SWA doesn't fly international?

No feeders needed..........you can't think of it like a traditional airline. Because it isn't. Thankfully.

 

[328dude]

Here Here! Seven and Eight leg days or more. Twenty minute turns. People jammed in like a small turboprop.

Yep that's a regional. They just get to keep the money they make as opposed to giving it to some loser with a MBA and no soul.:smash:

Ok, I'll bite. If we are a regional, if that makes you happy, then I like this regional as opposed to my last.

7-8 legs each day? Do some research...

 

[firstthird]

Feeders aren't just about international feed but also about the entire hub and spoke model vs. point to point.

refresher course, please add to as you see fit.

hub & spoke =
a few main 'hubs' where MANY cities connect through so that you can fly from smalltown, anywhere to smalltown, anywhere with 2 legs, connecting throught the hub

point to point =
mainly one leg or same flight number/through aircraft, good for connecting larger population centers to each other for high frequency/density routes

hub & spoke is good at having a lot of possible destinations and making good use of various aircraft sizes (small planes fly to small towns, big ones to big cities or international). But, it entails more aircraft sit time at the hubs waiting for the connecting passengers/flights.

point to point is good at maximizing individual aircraft use by reducing ground time but not so good for smaller markets that can't support the freq/aircraft a point to point operator uses.

So, why doesn't SWA use a regional? SWA is point to point and we don't have a need or use for 'feed,' besides the previously mentioned private car feed from around our airports.

Many analysts tend to lump all LCC into the point to point model (B6 airtran frontier) but so far those 3 pretty much do point to point from their main city, or a one hub 'hub and spoke' system if you will. For instance, if you are going to or from JFK, then B6 has a lot of cities/choices. If you want to go from Jacksonville to Kansas City, not so much (unless you go through JFK and change planes, if B6 even flies to Kansas City). Same with Airtran, except you go through Atlanta.

Now, before Airtran or B6 guys jump me, yes they have other 'focus' cities but I'm talking about the majority of their flying. And as they get bigger they probably will fill in the gaps more, but then again Jetblue is at 50 cities (to SWAs 62) and it doesn't seem like there is that much point to point. Anyone know how many flights a day out of their total flights don't start or end in either FLL, LGB, JFK, or BOS?

So, not even most LCC are point to point and even SWA is getting into 'hubs' in that our big cities (BWI, MDW, PHX, etc) have more connecting passengers than in the past (as is evidenced by our lost bags and on time numbers)

 

[Chest Rockwell]

The CASM on the current RJs is too high.
The 737 is the best regional jet ever built.

 

[dacm313]

Airtran tried the regional thing a couple of years ago called AirTran Jet Connect. Air Wisconsin operated it using CRJ's. It only lasted two years i beleive. Cost was just too high.

 

[xkuzme1]

...

SWA does not have any baby airplanes because they always pull out on time!

I heard that joke years ago!

X

 

[skiandsurf]

Southwest does have a regional.

It's called the automobile.

I thought it was Greyhound.

 

[masedogg19]

Airtran tried the regional thing a couple of years ago called AirTran Jet Connect. Air Wisconsin operated it using CRJ's. It only lasted two years i beleive. Cost was just too high.

They (Airtran) actually liked it....but they wanted us to fly 70-seaters....mgmt didn't think that there was a future in 70-seaters (brilliant move guys)....that was the end of the relationship

 

[dacm313]

They (Airtran) actually liked it....but they wanted us to fly 70-seaters....mgmt didn't think that there was a future in 70-seaters (brilliant move guys)....that was the end of the relationship

Thanks for clearing that up. I was not aware of that.

 

[AvroGuy]

ORF-LAS. Not regional. Why do you guys want to ruin another airline with RJ's

Neither is DFW-ROC or DFW-SBA or DFW-Nassau and yet Eagle is still called a regional. I think all jet opperationsin the 50-86 seat jets fly nationally but are still called regionals. The only regionals still out there are probably the turboprop opperations with the exception of Q400 operators.