scarlet,
Do a search. Your CEO has saii the same about growth and near future plans.
AirTran CEO Bob Fornaro stressed in a conference call with reporters on Monday that AirTran had "done a lot with not much" in terms of financial resources,
but that it was becoming less clear that AirTran had the ability to grow and remain competitive in an industry where the size of a carrier's route network is increasingly important.
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"Southwest has, relative to AirTran, vast resources," Fornaro said. It became clear that "we could do more with Southwest resources" than AirTran could do on its own.
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"The Southwest culture is unbelievable, and its employees have the highest passion I've ever seen in the industry," says Don Schmincke, a Baltimore-based author and speaker. "Can they convert AirTran employees
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“This agreement is great news for our Crew Members, our shareholders, our customers and the communities we serve. Joining
Southwest Airlines will give us opportunities to grow, both professionally as individuals and as a group, in ways that simply would not be possible without this agreement,” said Bob Fornaro
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“
We have evolved our company to be able to take on a growth opportunity like this,” Kelly said.
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At the request of Hartsfield-Jackson, Delta and AirTran began working together on a new lease agreement as far back as a year ago. The major terms of the lease, agreed to months before AirTran began talking to Southwest, would have the net effect to "keep Southwest out" by limiting the number of open gates available for the Dallas-based airline.
“Delta and AirTran used each other to get the best deal they could at the airport,” said someone familiar with the negotiations. “But when Delta started throwing AirTran under the bus, AirTran had an alternative. AirTran had outsmarted Delta.”
“Delta is going to feel pain like never before,” he said. “It is totally unavoidable.”
The real reason is that Southwest will “erode Delta’s pricing power” in the domestic market, where Delta already is at a disadvantage because of higher per-person operating costs.
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01/27/2010 CEO Robert Fornaro addressed the issue during a conference call Wednesday to discuss the airline's fourth-quarter financial results. QUESTION: How do you view the industry landscape and your prospects for growth in an improving economy?
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RESPONSE: "It's not our plan to scour the market and look for new planes. ... Right now, it's financial success first for us."
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2010-04-22
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ATLANTA -- AirTran Airways isn't putting up a for-sale sign, but the CEO of the discount carrier said Wednesday it would consider a combination with another carrier if approached and if such a deal made sense for the company and shareholders. CEO Robert Fornaro made the comments during a conference call with investors to discuss the airline's first-quarter
financial results. Higher
fuel prices stung AirTran, causing the usually profitable
airline to post a $12 million loss for the first three months of the year.
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2009-02-06
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Comments
ATLANTA (
Map,
News) - Discount carrier AirTran Airways doesn't expect any overall growth for two years as it tries to
weather the severe downturn in the U.S.
economy, though it will add service in
Milwaukee in a renewed effort to gain
market share there, Chief Executive Robert Fornaro said Thursday. Fornaro told a gathering of analysts at the Raymond James & Associates Growth
Airline Conference that AirTran will cut capacity in 2009 and likely will be flat in terms of capacity in 2010, but in 2011 it
could (doesnt mean it would) grow at least 5 percent. In the meantime, it will make a push in Milwaukee.
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AirTran pilots to picket outside annual meeting
Originally published: May 17, 2010 4:37 PM
By The Associated Press HARRY R. WEBER (AP Airlines Writer)
ATLANTA - (AP) — AirTran Airways' pilots plan to picket outside the discount carrier's annual meeting to step up pressure on management over the workers' more than five-year effort to secure a new contract with better wages and quality-of-life improvements.
They also expect to announce during Tuesday's shareholders' meeting in
Milwaukee that rank-and-file pilots have authorized the union to call a strike if it chooses.
At stake is AirTran's low-cost advantage over larger rivals that has allowed it to lead the way on fare sales and usually still turn a profit. AirTran posted a small loss for the first quarter but said it expects future cost pressures from fuel and maintenance. Additional labor costs could further affect its bottom line.
AirTran captains in their 10th year of service who fly 75 hours a month on small narrowbody aircraft earn on average $129,000 a year, compared with $143,000 at American and $197,000 at
Southwest Airlines, according to aviation consultant Kit Darby, who tracks pilot pay across the industry.
