Boz
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Posts
- 176
SWA, Getting Strong again!
Wow, SWA just amazes me over and over again!
You guys can weather any storm, it sounds like you are back on track already and going to set up for brighter skies! Simply amazing.....Southwest, signaling that its traffic and load factors may have already hit bottom, yesterday said it plans to accept delivery of two Boeing 737-700s sooner than expected and resume its network growth.
The airline has been in a "holding pattern" since Sept. 11, officials said, planning previously to defer delivery of 19 aircraft for several months. However, CEO Jim Parker told The DAILY yesterday that traffic and load factors are "gradually improving and moving in the right direction."
The airline early next year will take delivery of two new 737s that were recently parked in Mojave, Calif. The aircraft will enter service Feb. 4 when the airline adds frequencies on the East Coast.
Taking advantage of US Airways' recent decision to eliminate its MetroJet unit, Southwest will add daily service from Baltimore/Washington to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Manchester. The airline also will add flights from Islip, N.Y. to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Even with its current "cautious approach," Parker said the airline is able to justify additional frequencies, partially due to a reduction in "competitive capacity." In the three markets from BWI and Islip, Southwest believes it is able to "add capacity profitably," he said. Southwest was the only major carrier that did not slash capacity following Sept. 11.
For full-year 2001, Parker estimates that available seat miles will be up 8.9%. Southwest is using a 3% baseline capacity growth for 2002. "If we accelerate some deliveries, it could be more than that," he said. In the past, Southwest consistently targeted an annual capacity increase of 10%.
Last month, the airline signed a deal to establish a trust to take delivery of 19 737-700s that the carrier does not want to acquire until next spring. The aircraft were parked temporarily in the desert immediately upon delivery from Boeing and are available for service on short notice, Parker said. The airline did not plan to take the aircraft until April at the earliest.
Yields have improved since October, but they are still down year-over-year. At its third quarter conference call, Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly warned that the
airline's yields needed to grow by more than 10% in order for the carrier to break even.
Since its aggressive fare sales were first launched in late September, Parker said the airline has been working "toward inching our yield back up a little bit." The airline is now running more conventional fare sales and is taking "small baby steps" to keep its traffic and yields moving higher.
So it appears that airlines that are not cutting it are going to have to make some room here.
Boz
Wow, SWA just amazes me over and over again!
You guys can weather any storm, it sounds like you are back on track already and going to set up for brighter skies! Simply amazing.....Southwest, signaling that its traffic and load factors may have already hit bottom, yesterday said it plans to accept delivery of two Boeing 737-700s sooner than expected and resume its network growth.
The airline has been in a "holding pattern" since Sept. 11, officials said, planning previously to defer delivery of 19 aircraft for several months. However, CEO Jim Parker told The DAILY yesterday that traffic and load factors are "gradually improving and moving in the right direction."
The airline early next year will take delivery of two new 737s that were recently parked in Mojave, Calif. The aircraft will enter service Feb. 4 when the airline adds frequencies on the East Coast.
Taking advantage of US Airways' recent decision to eliminate its MetroJet unit, Southwest will add daily service from Baltimore/Washington to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Manchester. The airline also will add flights from Islip, N.Y. to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Even with its current "cautious approach," Parker said the airline is able to justify additional frequencies, partially due to a reduction in "competitive capacity." In the three markets from BWI and Islip, Southwest believes it is able to "add capacity profitably," he said. Southwest was the only major carrier that did not slash capacity following Sept. 11.
For full-year 2001, Parker estimates that available seat miles will be up 8.9%. Southwest is using a 3% baseline capacity growth for 2002. "If we accelerate some deliveries, it could be more than that," he said. In the past, Southwest consistently targeted an annual capacity increase of 10%.
Last month, the airline signed a deal to establish a trust to take delivery of 19 737-700s that the carrier does not want to acquire until next spring. The aircraft were parked temporarily in the desert immediately upon delivery from Boeing and are available for service on short notice, Parker said. The airline did not plan to take the aircraft until April at the earliest.
Yields have improved since October, but they are still down year-over-year. At its third quarter conference call, Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly warned that the
airline's yields needed to grow by more than 10% in order for the carrier to break even.
Since its aggressive fare sales were first launched in late September, Parker said the airline has been working "toward inching our yield back up a little bit." The airline is now running more conventional fare sales and is taking "small baby steps" to keep its traffic and yields moving higher.
So it appears that airlines that are not cutting it are going to have to make some room here.
Boz
