737-800 question to gary kelly

[maxblast72]

Man this board (Profession) has some serious losers. When you are typing things like this to someone, who does not have a job, does that make you feel good about yourself? It makes me feel sorry for you, you have no class.

Maybe this guy is tired of every ATA guy blaming SWA for the fact that the ATA CEO did not have a good business plan that eventually led to the demise of ATA. It is not the SWA pilots fault that ATA went out of business.

 

[maxblast72]

FAA.gov says Southwest has 546 737s... I don't know how accurate that is.

Let's say they get 50 737-800s.

The average flight attendant there brings home 30/hr, x 110/mo is about $3300, let's not even throw in per-diem, or open time.

3300x12 is about 40,000

40k x 50 is 2,000,000

2,000,000 x let's say 4 per airplane is 8,000,000.

That's 8 million they save by not having another FA.

My numbers are all just a guess. Not sure if the 8mil would be covered by the increased revenue of having a bigger plane.

I know 8mil really isn't that much money in the grand scheme of things either for an airline as massive as Southwest.

Much more complicated than just the F/A cost. Ownership cost and fuel costs would be much larger players than F/A cost.

Using 50 737-800 aircraft with 20 extra seats flying 13 hrs/day, 350 miles per hour, 365 days a year, 75% load factor, and Southwest's average RASM of about $.10/ASM, results in about an extra $125 million per year to Southwest's top line for 50 737-800s instead of 737-700s.

Of course that is assuming 75% load factor and RASM inline with Southwest system average. You can bet Gary Kelly and crew have been crunching the numbers for years and it is interesting that they have stuck with -700 so far. During recessions, it is much easier to manage RASM with smaller airplanes than larger ones.

 

[contrail67]

Gary doesn't have the balls to make an aggressive move. He's too busy coverng 6.

But on a brighter note....... 35 more captains got downgraded yesterday.

Gup

It is all about damage control right now.....1 extra F/A will not mean the route/aircraft will become unprofitable.

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas,

The FA issue is a non-event. At on the DC-9 at NWA, there are simply "add" patterns (trips) where the extra FA chases the -40s/-50s around.

Hardly earth shattering.

Nu

 

[PropPiedmont]

Who cares about 800's. If SWA got 800s they we be used for retirement a/c replacements, not growth. We need a bigger airplane, not a bigger 737. 767s, 777s, or 787s would be worth getting excited about, not 738s.

 

[CaptSeth]

Maybe this guy is tired of every ATA guy blaming SWA for the fact that the ATA CEO did not have a good business plan that eventually led to the demise of ATA. It is not the SWA pilots fault that ATA went out of business.

ATA CEO? You must be referring to John Dennison then. Yes, I remember him. He actually had a very good business plan that led to the demise of ATA, much to the detriment of the flying public, ATA Employees, and the DoD.

He's sitting on the Board at SW, now, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[contrail67]

Who cares about 800's. If SWA got 800s they we be used for retirement a/c replacements, not growth. We need a bigger airplane, not a bigger 737. 767s, 777s, or 787s would be worth getting excited about, not 738s.

And that won't happen. Can you imagine all the money the pilots would have to come up with to "buy" the type rating on the new aircraft?!

 

[ASADFW7]

FAA.gov says Southwest has 546 737s... I don't know how accurate that is.

Let's say they get 50 737-800s.

The average flight attendant there brings home 30/hr, x 110/mo is about $3300, let's not even throw in per-diem, or open time.

3300x12 is about 40,000

40k x 50 is 2,000,000

2,000,000 x let's say 4 per airplane is 8,000,000.

That's 8 million they save by not having another FA.

My numbers are all just a guess. Not sure if the 8mil would be covered by the increased revenue of having a bigger plane.

I know 8mil really isn't that much money in the grand scheme of things either for an airline as massive as Southwest.

They already pay three of them so it is only an increase of one FA, it would be better to divide the number of seats per aircraft by the FAs to see the cost comparisons.

 

[MILPILOT17]

And that won't happen. Can you imagine all the money the pilots would have to come up with to "buy" the type rating on the new aircraft?!

Good one dude! You really showed all those SWA guys making sub-standard pay rates! Keep up the good work!!!!!

 

[Mea25000]

SWA configuration would allow alot more then 20 more seats on a 800. You could put 45 more people in back. I think ATA had 180 on theirs.