Houston Mayor OK's Hobby International for SW

[humveedriver]

Good article in the WSJ yesterday about the United merger. The article was good. The reports from Uniteds top tier frequent fliers is bad. With the merger, there are more "status" fliers competing for less seats. Companies like American are actively reaching out to these premium customers and offering instant status on their frequent flier program. Forget about Houston United... Fight to keep your best customers!

 

[Flopgut]

I understand as well, and think you're just dodging the argument.
Things do get confusing when your airline has been outsourcing so long in such complicated ways. Stockholm syndrome you start to think you need the outsourcing

Aer lingus is purely a scope issue. It's a mgt attack on section 1. Lufthansa is an alliance partner. They are participating/competeing is the market at IAH just like we do at airports in their country.

The alliance is like a cooperative. We all participate in the market with the ultimate goal of getting customers through the hub and all over the world. We compete and we also help each other out. Everybody get's a shot at business.

You SWA guys don't want that. You can't compete in that environment. Remember I told you GK wanted Hobby to ultimately be used by SWA only? Well, that's just about what he's getting (not done deal yet). Build 5 gates and all but one are exclusive use for SWA. That's a fact pal. You don't want to COMPETE... I called it.

 

[redflyer65]

Flop,

Your arguement about competing is idiotic. So you think it would be best for Southwest to come to IAH and compete, or, United to come to HOU to compete? What are you smoking? Neither is a good idea for either carrier.

We've got a pretty good setup in HOU and you in IAH, so be it. Just like all the other large cities that have two, maybe even three airports. You want it manditory that everyone compete out of every airport there is?

 

[Flopgut]

Flop,

Your arguement about competing is idiotic.

It is exactly what you agreed to a few years ago in Dallas... City of Dallas didn't want to end up with FIS at both DFW and Love. You guys agreed it was a good idea. You're just doing this in Houston now because the city has weak mayor who is pissed off at UAL.

 

[Double Shot]

You know Flop

American is just right up the street from houston. Continental is not all that great of a carrier even with united. I know lots of people in houston that do all of their international flying out of Dallas just to avoid you guys. Get over yourself... Continental slash united is not all that.

 

[SWA Bubba]

It is exactly what you agreed to a few years ago in Dallas... City of Dallas didn't want to end up with FIS at both DFW and Love. You guys agreed it was a good idea. You're just doing this in Houston now because the city has weak mayor who is pissed off at UAL.

This is absolutely 100% incorrect. The two situations are not the same at all. The only reason we agreed to no international out of Love Field is as part of a compromise in order to finally rid ourselves of one of the most blatant pieces of protectionist legislation in all of history--the Wright Amendment. A law aimed squarely at Southwest Airlines, to prevent competition. We had to agree to no international (as well as a reduced total of 20 gates) in order to make the compromise, just to allow us to fly from Dallas to ANY city in the US out of the WA footprint (Texas and surrounding states). It has absolutely NOTHING to do with FIS services at multiple airports (lots of cities do this), and we DIDN'T agree that it was a good idea.

You see, American didn't want to compete with us then, any more than United does now--they just had the Speaker of the House in their pocket at the time, who could sneak such an amendment in to an unrelated bill. You don't.

Bubba

 

[Flopgut]

Read pages 12-13 of the following link again Bubba:

http://dig.abclocal.go.com/ktrk/SWA-UACorrespondence.pdf

It indicates central FIS (at DFW) is what Dallas wanted to make the Metroplex airport system more competitive and viable, and Southwest did agree to it. I'm sure you"ll disagree, but It's in black and white. It's part of a legal precedent that is part of the FAA grant process. The Speaker didn't just pull it out of his anal pore. I'm certainly not 100% incorrect.

Out of the first three airports that SWA ever served, two have had to go thru a "crisis", where Southwest Airlines claims the airport needs to be "freed". Is that what's really going on here? If SWA get's exactly what they want at Hobby, it will be a 5 gate building-4 of which are exclusive to SWA. Permanently! Does that sound like Hobby has been "freed"?

 

[scoreboardII]

yes.


.....

 

[Flopgut]

Figures...

 

[waveflyer]

Here's the deal flop-

Should government decide how private businesses conduct operations?