Posted By - Atlanta The Atlanta Business Chronicle
Last Updated On: 10/1/2010 3:51:08 PM
ATLANTA
-- A decade ago, Joe Leonard approached Herb Kelleher to see if he might be interested in a merger of both their airlines.
At the time, Leonard was CEO of AirTran Airways Inc., and Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, was CEO of the Dallas-based airline.
In all, Leonard talked to Kelleher four times about doing a deal. And then, when Kelleher stepped down as CEO, Leonard approached Jim Parker, the then-new CEO of Southwest, on two other occasions.
Each time, no deal.
Although a combination looked great on paper, Southwest was not ready to risk losing its culture and successful formula by acquiring another major discount carrier. Also, Southwest had been known to shun large hub airports, like Atlanta.
Then, on April 21 this year, Southwest's current CEO, Gary Kelly, called Bob Fornaro, who had succeeded Leonard as AirTran's CEO, and said: "Let's talk."
Conversations turned into negotiations, and on Sept. 27, the airlines announced Southwest will buy AirTran for $1.4 billion.
"Bob did this deal," Leonard said of Fornaro. "What I did was a failure. I didn't get it done in six attempts. But Bob's latest round of conversations with Southwest resulted in a merger." The announcement caught the industry by surprise. But probably the people who were most surprised were the executives of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc.
Over the years, Delta has been extremely protective of its dominant position at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the largest in the world.
Time and time again, Delta worked hard behind the scenes to limit the competition flying into Hartsfield-Jackson. And there was no competitor Delta feared more than Southwest, the most successful airline in the country.
A former airline executive said Southwest is the toughest competitor there is. "You are talking about one of the premier airlines in the world," he said. "AirTran has been successful, but a relatively localized, low-cost carrier, not a powerhouse like Southwest."
It is no secret in Atlanta that Delta did everything it could to outmaneuver its competition.
When business leaders or airport executives would make a call on Southwest officials to see about it flying out of Atlanta, Delta officials would cry foul. How could Atlanta leaders turn their back on Delta, the airline that had grown with the city, and vice versa.
When it came to AirTran, Delta at first ignored the discount carrier, then it tried repeatedly to get it out of the way - unsuccessfully.
But sometimes Delta and AirTran would join forces.
In the recent lease negotiations between the airlines and Hartsfield-Jackson, Delta and AirTran worked together to "keep Southwest out" by making sure to limit the number of open gates available for the Dallas-based airline.
But by that time, Southwest had set its sights on Atlanta. The Southeast region of the country was a big hole in its national network, and there was no market more attractive for Southwest than Atlanta.
In the past 18 months, Southwest had even met with Federal Aviation Administration officials to explore coming to Atlanta. Given the lack of open gates at Hartsfield-Jackson, Southwest had few options - to help support a second passenger airport in Gwinnett County - or to acquire AirTran.
"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."
That said, Southwest probably held off buying AirTran until the Orlando, Fla.-based discount carrier had signed a new seven-year lease agreement with Hartsfield-Jackson, guaranteeing the use of at least 32 gates. That lease was signed Sept. 13, at a time when Southwest and AirTran were in intense negotiations.
"The real value was AirTran's lease at Hartsfield," said one industry observer. "AirTran would have never gotten $1.4 billion until they got that lease renewed."
Don Chapman, an AirTran director who was one of the original board members of predecessor ValuJet, credited his airline's executive team for being able to respond to all the competitive challenges it has faced.
"Personally, it's been part of the American dream, building a business where the management of AirTran, through good times and bad times, has taken care of its people, and its people have taken care of its passengers," Chapman said. "The people who worked so hard as members of the AirTran team are what we are proudest of as we reach this new milestone."
Last Updated On: 10/1/2010 3:51:08 PM
ATLANTA
-- A decade ago, Joe Leonard approached Herb Kelleher to see if he might be interested in a merger of both their airlines.At the time, Leonard was CEO of AirTran Airways Inc., and Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, was CEO of the Dallas-based airline.
In all, Leonard talked to Kelleher four times about doing a deal. And then, when Kelleher stepped down as CEO, Leonard approached Jim Parker, the then-new CEO of Southwest, on two other occasions.
Each time, no deal.
Although a combination looked great on paper, Southwest was not ready to risk losing its culture and successful formula by acquiring another major discount carrier. Also, Southwest had been known to shun large hub airports, like Atlanta.
Then, on April 21 this year, Southwest's current CEO, Gary Kelly, called Bob Fornaro, who had succeeded Leonard as AirTran's
CEO, and said: "Let's talk."Conversations turned into negotiations, and on Sept. 27, the airlines announced Southwest will buy AirTran for $1.4 billion.
"Bob did this deal," Leonard said of Fornaro. "What I did was a failure. I didn't get it done in six attempts. But Bob's latest round of conversations with Southwest resulted in a merger." The announcement caught the industry by surprise. But probably the people who were most surprised were the executives of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc.
Over the years, Delta has been extremely protective of its dominant position at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the largest in the world.
Time and time again, Delta worked hard behind the scenes to limit the competition flying into Hartsfield-Jackson. And there was no competitor Delta feared more than Southwest, the most successful airline in the country.
A former airline executive said Southwest is the toughest competitor there is. "You are talking about one of the premier airlines in the world," he said. "AirTran has been successful, but a relatively localized, low-cost carrier, not a powerhouse like Southwest."
It is no secret in Atlanta that Delta did everything it could to outmaneuver its competition.
When business leaders or airport executives would make a call on Southwest officials to see about it flying out of Atlanta, Delta officials would cry foul. How could Atlanta leaders turn their back on Delta, the airline that had grown with the city, and vice versa.
When it came to AirTran, Delta at first ignored the discount carrier, then it tried repeatedly to get it out of the way - unsuccessfully.
But sometimes Delta and AirTran would join forces.
In the recent lease negotiations between the airlines and Hartsfield-Jackson, Delta and AirTran worked together to "keep Southwest out" by making sure to limit the number of open gates available for the Dallas-based airline.
But by that time, Southwest had set its sights on Atlanta. The Southeast region of the country was a big hole in its national network, and there was no market more attractive for Southwest than Atlanta.
In the past 18 months, Southwest had even met with Federal Aviation Administration officials to explore coming to Atlanta. Given the lack of open gates at Hartsfield-Jackson, Southwest had few options - to help support a second passenger airport in Gwinnett County - or to acquire AirTran.
"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."
That said, Southwest probably held off buying AirTran until the Orlando, Fla.-based discount carrier had signed a new seven-year lease agreement with Hartsfield-Jackson, guaranteeing the use of at least 32 gates. That lease was signed Sept. 13, at a time when Southwest and AirTran were in intense negotiations.
"The real value was AirTran's lease at Hartsfield," said one industry observer. "AirTran would have never gotten $1.4 billion until they got that lease renewed."
Don Chapman, an AirTran director who was one of the original board members of predecessor ValuJet, credited his airline's executive team for being able to respond to all the competitive challenges it has faced.
"Personally, it's been part of the American dream, building a business where the management of AirTran, through good times and bad times, has taken care of its people, and its people have taken care of its passengers," Chapman said. "The people who worked so hard as members of the AirTran team are what we are proudest of as we reach this new milestone."
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