Southwest upbeat about growth after AirTran merger

[livintheredream]

I saw a new commercial for the all new" World of Warcraft" coming out. I don't know much about it other than the South Park episode of fat, acne ridden kids in there mom's basement. I picture that to be some the FI tools on here. Once its out these boards will go silent. So hopefully then there might be some intellectual conversations.

 

[Wesb737fo]

Sorry AT guys, but you're going to need a lot more than 'Cry Baby Katz' to make your case that the lottery you just won has no meaning whatsoever!

PCL, you talk as if Fruend is the only asset we have, versus your arsenal of talent from ALPA national. First, we have a number of guys with plenty of experience in ALPA merger policy. That's because people from numerous ALPA airlines came to SWA for our superior pay, QOL, benefits, job security, etc.

Also, with the rate at which you are spending ALPA money versus bringing money in, I imagine there is a limit to what they are willing to throw at the 'low hanging fruit' that many other ALPA groups have had to contend with as you led the race to the bottom.

Man....seriously......who dumped in your fruit loops? You are all over FI spouting your nonsense. I can't figure out if you really believe what you are posting or just trying to elicit a response from as many as possible. Someone else said it right, thank god only a handful of the 7800+ pilots involved are getting in on the food fight. Get a life

...as for me ....it's time figure out how to play Pink Floyd's " Shine on you crazy diamond" with my new Fender Strat. An early Christmas gift from my wife. Shine on Lonestar......Shine on.

 

[Skybus]

Pretty scarry that people actually trust their lives and families to these "professionals" . Grow up girls.

Bus

I hope to god that most of you are simply Riddle Students sitting in the dorm having fun on the computer..... because IF you are actually Pilots at SWA or anywhere else for that matter.... you should be absolutely ashamed at how PATHETIC, RIDICULOUS, PETTY and JUVENILE you appear on this thread alone.

Arguing tit for tat about Attorneys? Are you serious? How old are you people?

I hope and pray you don't fly airplanes for a living... because reading and watching all this trite bull********************.... gives incredible insight to your mental immaturity.

Go out, get laid.... and get a life. GROW up.... start acting like PROFESSIONALS for god's sake. You're an embarrassment to Airline Pilots....[/QUOTE]

 

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

Nice to see pilots on both side are pushung back against some of the crap said on these threads.

 

[stalker]

I joined FI shortly after the merger announcement to get a sense of the other sides feelings. After a few months of mostly lurking I am not to worried that both sides will come to some type of agreement. I say this because out of 7800 pilots I only see the same 7-10 continue to go about their circle jerk with each other! Reminds me of a dog I once had that chased its tail, but never could catch it!

 

[Max Powers]

I joined FI shortly after the merger announcement to get a sense of the other sides feelings. After a few months of mostly lurking I am not to worried that both sides will come to some type of agreement. I say this because out of 7800 pilots I only see the same 7-10 continue to go about their circle jerk with each other! Reminds me of a dog I once had that chased its tail, but never could catch it!

So very true my future brother.

 

[swa737-700]

Arbitrators will decide if there is a windfall or not. You had better hope you have good lawyers working with you, because ALPA knows how to do this by now.

That comment is laughable. Go review alpo's performance in the aa/TWA merger. They are still up to their private parts in alligators trying to get out of the lawsuit. No, alpo sucks...especially at representing a group of dues paying pilots they know they are about to lose. Good luck with that wish.

 

[JumpJetter]

So very true my future brother.

Ha! Spoken by one of them.

 

[Skyboy722]

Just out of curiosity, where'd you go johnsonrod?

 

[Captzaahlie]

Southwest upbeat about growth after AirTran merger


[SIZE=-1]12:00 AM CST on Friday, December 17, 2010

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected] [/SIZE]


Southwest Airlines Co. wants its merger with AirTran Holdings Inc. to add up, not down.
Speaking to industry analysts Thursday, chairman and chief executive Gary Kelly said that Southwest doesn't intend to follow the path of other mergers in which the surviving carrier wound up smaller than its two predecessors.
Consolidation usually means "that you take Airline A plus Airline B, and one plus one is less than two," Kelly said. "That's not what we're contemplating here with AirTran."
Dallas-based Southwest officially is in a no-growth mode, and Kelly reiterated that that will remain the company's stance until Southwest closes its merger with AirTran, probably in the first half of 2011.
However, Southwest is already licking its chops about what it might add to its traffic and revenue by connecting Southwest's cities to AirTran's cities, even before adding airplanes to the combined fleet.
AirTran's routes are already profitable, but "most of those new markets are not fully developed and are in need of further expansion. I would point to Atlanta in particular," Kelly said. "This creates for us immediately significant growth opportunities."
In addition, "AirTran brings significant profit synergies simply by virtue of connecting our two route networks. This has the effect of creating hundreds of new itineraries. It may be a thousand new itineraries when we actually get around to doing that," he said.
Simply linking the two networks will drive hundreds of millions of dollars in new traffic, and "all of that can be done without raising fares or without adding a single airplane," Kelly said.
Southwest, which is strictly a domestic carrier, has grown tremendously since 2000 – adding 200 airplanes – even as most of its large competitors reduced their domestic networks, he said.
"As I listen to the industry talk, they're very pessimistic, and certainly very pessimistic about the opportunities domestically," Kelly said. "We have the exact opposite view."
He said he agreed with Southwest chief financial officer Laura Wright that "business travel has been the real weak spot in travel. To a large degree, the softness there has been somewhat replaced by stronger leisure travel."
About the time he was speaking to analysts in New York, American Express Business Travel issued a report that said business travel fares were almost back to pre-recession levels.
The American Express Co. division said average fares on domestic routes reached $228 in the third quarter, up from $215 in third quarter 2009 and nearly back to third quarter 2007's $231. The highest fares, $253, came in third quarter 2009, as fuel prices were peaking and the sharp drop in business travel had yet to be felt.
Wright said Southwest set a goal in 2007 to increase its revenue by $1 billion by 2010. However, that goal turned out to be too little, she said.
Southwest now expects its operating revenue in 2010 to be more than $2 billion above its 2007 revenue, with the majority brought by higher fares. Wright said more than $1 billion is coming from higher yields, or revenue charged per passenger per mile; about $700 million from carrying more passengers; and the rest from new services like the "Early Bird" fee that lets people board ahead of other passengers.

sounds like a xmas carol....:beer: