Southwest Air CFO:On Track To Meet, Beat '06 Earnings Goal

[canyonblue]

Southwest Air CFO:On Track To Meet, Beat '06 Earnings Goal

By Ann Keeton, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) is on track to meet or beat its goal of increasing earnings by 15% in 2006, Laura Wright, chief financial officer, said during a conference Webcast on Wednesday.

For the second quarter, the low-cost airline expects both revenue and costs to rise, the executive said. Southwest will continue to introduce modest increases in ticket prices to cover added costs for fuel and operations, Wright said.

Southwest's business will grow between 8% and 9% this year, as planned, Wright said, as the company adds 33 aircraft."We have tried to find some more aircraft, but there aren't any out there," she said. Long-term growth plans, with new aircraft orders from Boeing Co. (BA), remain intact, she said.
Compared with other low-cost carriers, it's relatively easy for Southwest to grow, Wright said. With a large flight network that serves more than 60 cities, it's easy for the airline to add flight frequencies and new flights to "connect the dots" between cities the airline serves.

By 2008 or 2009, Southwest will be ready to expand to international flying through code-sharing with partner ATA Airlines, Wright said.With industry-leading fuel hedges, including a 70% hedge this year at $36 a barrel, "we have a significant advantage over competitors on fuel until 2010," Wright said. "Our challenge is to keep our ex-fuel CASM (cost per seat-mile) flat." The airline remains optimistic that non-fuel costs in 2006 will be flat with 2005.

On the revenue side, industry trends remain positive, Wright said. The strength of passenger traffic this year "has surprised us somewhat.

 

[ATA For Now!]

By 2008 or 2009, Southwest will be ready to expand to international flying through code-sharing with partner ATA Airlines, Wright said.

Hmmmm....wonder how WN pilots are going to feel when they taxi up to a gate after flying 5 legs to drop off pax getting on an ATA bird going one leg to London or something....

If this happens it would be great for the folks at ATA but if I were a WN pilot, I may have a little heartburn over it. I hope it somehow works great for all. I would love to go back to Intl flying....this domestic stuff is not for me!!

Just curious what others think....

RV

 

[TrumanSparks]

The heartburn is starting.

Code share and scope will be big parts of our new contract coming up, I'm willing to bet.

This is starting to "get talked about" in the cockpits and overnights more and more.

We'll see were it goes.

 

[SKIPPYFIFTY]

Truman

You don't need to be on here reading this stuff. It will just make you upset.

 

[FlyBarneyJets]

Hmmmm....wonder how WN pilots are going to feel when they taxi up to a gate after flying 5 legs to drop off pax getting on an ATA bird going one leg to London or something....

If this happens it would be great for the folks at ATA but if I were a WN pilot, I may have a little heartburn over it. I hope it somehow works great for all. I would love to go back to Intl flying....this domestic stuff is not for me!!

Just curious what others think....

RV

See I'm just the opposite. I'd much rather hit a six-legger and fly West-Coast short haul only. My ass can't take sitting in that seat for some of the long-haul stuff we're flying now...and it ain't for a lack of padding.

As far as scope limitations, I don't have enough info to form an opinion on whether or not we really need something like that here. Can anyone give me an idea why we'd need to limit our codeshare partner's flying using some specific examples?

 

[tzskipper]

"If this happens it would be great for the folks at ATA but if I were a WN pilot, I may have a little heartburn over it. I hope it somehow works great for all. I would love to go back to Intl flying....this domestic stuff is not for me!!"

With all due respect "ATA for now", why do you care?

Personally, it appears that the codeshare has been financially beneficial for both ATA and Southwest. In regards to the impact on employees though, I believe that the ATA group has pretty much had their a$$ handed to them in the form of furloughs and paycuts. No more MDW - Florida, LAX, SFO, PHX or DEN. The argument could be made that much of the growth at Southwest has been at the expense of ATA and it's employees (ATA went from 14 MDW gates to 1, with Southwest acquiring 10 additional gates in the deal). Although I do not work for WN, from the outside, it does not appear that there has been any impact whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the ATA reductions most likely helped with the Southwest growth model.

This is not "sour grapes", as most ATA employees understand that this is business, and that it is all about "leverage". I will say this though, any comments about "heartburn" are more likely based in arrogance and lack of information about what has truly taken place.

In closing, all of Southwest pilots that I have met have always been supportive of ATA's surivival. Why you would choose to stir the pot is beyond me.

Skipper

 

[ATA For Now!]

"With all due respect "ATA for now", why do you care?

Skipper

I care because I still have a seniority number at ATA. I miss the flying there very much. It would be great if ATA became the International carrier it once had the potential of becoming before the braintrust in the puzzle palace screwed it up. I have never worked with a finer bunch of airmen in my life and leaving was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. The way things were looking, I really had no choice.The choice has worked out fairly well but domestic flying is just not the same. If ATA Mgmt can get their head out of their ass for a bit, I believe it will become a great place to work once again!

I was not trying to "stir the pot" as you put it, I was just curious what the folks at WN though of THEIR managements statements.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled bickering!

RV

 

[Benhuntn]

Can you say merger? I think their certificates could a lot of value as we look for overwater destinations. Houston - S. America, Oakland - Hawaii, and who knows what else we could add.

 

[SWA/FO]

merger? I don't think so. Buyout - maybe? Again, I have no idea.

 

[Benhuntn]

Buy out or merger it all comes down to certificates. The finance company that owns ATA is known for turning property in 2-3 yrs for about 30% mark-up. So buy out maybe tho option.

 

[7S3W7A]

So what time frame do you think it will take for SWA to use ATA as a test bed for international then take over the routes like DEN and RSW?

I imagine our reservation transformation to allow ATA to do long haul stuff for us is just a prelude before we dump them and do it ourselves.

Maybe we'll end up buying their routes or planes or whatever.

2012?

 

[atafan]

I imagine our reservation transformation to allow ATA to do long haul stuff for us is just a prelude before we dump them and do it ourselves.

Yes sir master, we're proud to be your do#che bag.

Problem is, your'e probably right.

 

[ATA For Now!]

I imagine our reservation transformation to allow ATA to do long haul stuff for us is just a prelude before we dump them and do it ourselves.

FYI TZ Skipper, statements like this are "stirring the pot!!"

Most likely doesn't even work for SWA but everyone has to have a dream!

RV

 

[CaptSeth]

I don't think it's stirring the pot, I think it's an accurate representation of what has happened up until now. The only bright side to this is that M-P certainly had an exit strategy lined up before they signed on the dotted line, and a continued cannibilization will not provide much, if any ROI.

 

[7S3W7A]

FYI TZ Skipper, statements like this are "stirring the pot!!"

Most likely doesn't even work for SWA but everyone has to have a dream!

RV

I'm not stirring the pot. Simply putting out there the time frame before we go international.

I hate to tell you but your dream of backdooring into SWA with a buyout isn't going to happen. The execs. here like to hire the "right" person for the job and suddenly flooding the company with un-screened unhappy employees isn't their style.

GK is shrewed and it's clear he is and has been using ATA to do free market research to determine profitable routes. We are spending minimal money to obtain more capital by using ATA to determine if MEX and CAN are in the cards. HI won't happen because we would have to spend more on our own aircraft to out fit them with rafts. So you can have HI.

 

[CaptSeth]

I'm not stirring the pot. Simply putting out there the time frame before we go international.

I hate to tell you but your dream of backdooring into SWA with a buyout isn't going to happen. The execs. here like to hire the "right" person for the job and suddenly flooding the company with un-screened unhappy employees isn't their style.

...... So you can have HI.

Now you're stirring the pot, dickbreath.

 

[Mugs]

I'm not stirring the pot. Simply putting out there the time frame before we go international.

I hate to tell you but your dream of backdooring into SWA with a buyout isn't going to happen. The execs. here like to hire the "right" person for the job and suddenly flooding the company with un-screened unhappy employees isn't their style.

Tell that to your own pilots that used to work for Eastern and other failed carriers. One of them posts on this board if I am not mistaken. You don't think they were miserable and unhappy at one time? Does such an experience in a pilots career make them unqualified to work with you? Idiot.

 

[mdf]

I thought it was determined long ago that this goofball (7S3WA) does not work at SWA. As someone else put it " Please stop feeding the retards"

 

[OffHot]

All because someone is disgrunteled at XYZ airline doens't mean they will be a liability at ABC airline, which is true of some current SWA pilots who may have had a less than enjoyable time at a previous airline. I don't think the majority of SWA pilots have an issue with GK one day including ATA into our system, but before GK stepped across that line I would guess, based on past dealing with him, that a policy for current ATA employees would have to be agreed upon prior to any such action, rather than after. We have history with Morris to say, bottom of the list but protect their pay if it would be less than a first year FO, once SWA pay exceded theirs, in this case ATA pay, then they move over to our pay scale. Any merger of a seniority list, in my opion, would be a no deal with our pilot group and more importantly it would open a door for the former Morris pilots to bring litigation against SWA for seniority. The greatest hurdle would be the 757 intergration, simple fix would be to sell them off, if not you can't expect the SWA guys/gals to take over that flying day one, so something in the interm would have to be done. Either way all the ATA people I have meet have been great and if something does happen and they start flying the barney blue jets then welcome, if not I hope they turn it around.

 

[Mugs]

I thought it was determined long ago that this goofball (7S3WA) does not work at SWA. As someone else put it " Please stop feeding the retards"

Well, 7S3WA doesn't sound any different than some of the "confirmed" SWA pilots on this board.