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Southwest Airlines to Acquire AirTran; Spreading Low Fares Farther 6:55 am - PR Newsw

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I found out during our first leg today via acars from our dispatcher. I thought he was messing with us. Was glad to find out he was not. As a junior guy at AT, I couldn't be happier. (unless I get furloughed, then i might be a little unhappy)
 
from a SWA Forum.....senior management ground school briefing:

- 2 Facts. 1) We are Aquiring Airtran, 2) We are NOT going into DFW
- They have 7800 employees/1600ish Pilots, all will be absorbed into SWA
- 86 717s with 117 seats will be kept (breaking leases is very expensive)
- 52 -700s (all their A/C will be reconfigured to SWA all coach)
- 51 Firm orders for -700s thru 2017 will be kept, possible switched to -800s
- We overlap on only 18 city pair, so DOJ approval likely
- we paid 675M? in Cash, and another 675M? in Stock. They have 400M in cash on hand, so THIS IS A VERY GOOD DEAL.
- We get ATL with 200 flts a day right off the bat.
- We get 36? new cities and some carribbean right off the bat.
- Estimate of 2BILLION revenue increase for this investment.
- They have slots at LGA and DCA. We will not be using in DFW slots.
- A 5-8 month ramp up and 2 years to fully integrate Airtran in SWA.
- DING DING DING: Will be hiring beginning Jan/ Feb TWO CLASSES of 20, to be ready for March schedule, which has our Aircraft daily useage above 13 hours per day.

 
SWA/FO said:
from a SWA Forum.....senior management ground school briefing:

- 2 Facts. 1) We are Aquiring Airtran, 2) We are NOT going into DFW
- They have 7800 employees/1600ish Pilots, all will be absorbed into SWA
- 86 717s with 117 seats will be kept (breaking leases is very expensive)
- 52 -700s (all their A/C will be reconfigured to SWA all coach)
- 51 Firm orders for -700s thru 2017 will be kept, possible switched to -800s
- We overlap on only 18 city pair, so DOJ approval likely
- we paid 675M? in Cash, and another 675M? in Stock. They have 400M in cash on hand, so THIS IS A VERY GOOD DEAL.
- We get ATL with 200 flts a day right off the bat.
- We get 36? new cities and some carribbean right off the bat.
- Estimate of 2BILLION revenue increase for this investment.
- They have slots at LGA and DCA. We will not be using in DFW slots.
- A 5-8 month ramp up and 2 years to fully integrate Airtran in SWA.
- DING DING DING: Will be hiring beginning Jan/ Feb TWO CLASSES of 20, to be ready for March schedule, which has our Aircraft daily useage above 13 hours per day.
Click to expand...

All great news. Thx for sharing!
 
jonjuan said:
How long until PCL starts slapping his "We Are ALPA" stickers on WN yokes?
Click to expand...
All along, PCL has been riding SWAPA's coat tails.
General Lee said:
Since Delta leases 70% of the gates in ATL, I just don't think that is possible. Those gates have long term leases too with the city. But, if you think that, well, I guess you might be wrong. But regardless, HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY!


Bye Bye--General Lee
Click to expand...
It's hard to pay the lease on a gate when you're losing money.
We've all seen what short work SWA has made of USAir on the east coast.
 
Congrats to Airtran guys! I think it will work out well for the two groups. Now, only if WN buys AS... It would be worth every penny just to say bye bye to ALPO! Wishful thinking, I know.
 
My gut is on the floor. I have so many friends at Air Tran, and think we all know where this is headed. My best to you guys.
 
suupah said:
McCaskill Bond amendment. couple of senators from Missouri who weren't too happy with how the American/TWA SLI drafted the law. SLI's have to be fair and equitable. Good luck defining that!!
Click to expand...

USAPA would tell you McCaskill Bond means DOH. We'll see.
 
The eating bread and cutting himself is the funniest thing i've heard all week.

Poor little guy is gonna stroke out stomping his angry little foot before this is over.

So much for a alpa national job.......
 
I'm sure SWA will run Delta out of ATL. Just like they ran NWA out of MSP and DTW, and UAL out of SFO and DEN, and Delta out of SLC.

Curious how these claims are not made by SWA pilots but by regional lifers who've probably been turned down by both Delta and SWA and now live a life mired in bitterness and envy.

Life is too short. If you had that much business foresight you'd already be millionaires, not pooping out 5 legs a day in a CRJ.
 
Last edited:
dicko said:
Thank you sir. An excellent link. I think that we're all going to get along just fine.

On another note. PCL128 has been sighted; He emerged from a cupboard where he has been crouched since 7:30 this morning. It has been reported that he spent his time gorging on bread and making small cuts on his inner thigh. :D
Click to expand...

Youse guys crack me up....and I agree.

I think we're all gonna get along just fine
 
whatitdoing? said:
Jesus, Delta pilots just don't get it. Dude, look at your statement.

1. Delta isn't gonna be the largest airline as of Oct. 1. So I'll let you make that statement to Friday if that's what get's you hard. What on earth is Delta gonna do when they can't say, "World's Largest Airline". Fly us...."we're just that cool".

2. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world. Ok....so what? ATL is a transfer point with little originating passengers. Those originating passengers are gonna go to SW unless they're international. But Delta get's a huge amount of money from passengers to airports like LGA, DCA, JFK, and MCO. Now SW is gonna eat your lunch. So if flying into ATL and saying "I fly into the world's busiest airport" puts a smile on your face, ok. Just remember that when you see nothing but orange flying around.

3. SWA earned 112 or so million for a quarter. You're saying because Delta pulled in 463 million that you're better? Remind me how much you lost over the last 5 years compared to SW. Again, can't see the forest from the trees.

4. Good luck
Click to expand...

1) I was only stating that DAL is the biggest airline flying out of ATL (a fact that will remain unchanged after the UAL/CAL merger). Nevertheless, I honestly don't care about flying for the "biggest airline in the world." Bragging rights like that do nothing for me.

2) See nothing but orange? You mean "Barney Blue," right? Also, I see more UAL than SWA out of DEN. And I see WAAAAAY more DAL out of SLC than I see SWA. So I highly doubt SWA be pushing Delta around out of ATL (Delta's stronghold). The fact that SWA has had their way with Frontier and US Air doesn't mean anything when you consider the strength of DAL in ATL.

3) Kudos to SWA for making money when everyone else wasn't! That's awesome. My point was that DAL has an extremely competitive cost structure as evidenced by recent earnings. So yes, I think DAL is better at making money... for now. I think that's why SWA is pulling the trigger on this deal. They know they can't continue to compete with their current business model. This is a very bold, and desperate, move for them. They've caught merger fever...just like everyone else.

The intent of my original post was to shut up the retard who thinks SWA can push DAL out of ATL. I know SWA is a strong, well run company. I have many friends there. I'm not saying DAL will smash them. I'm just saying good luck pushing DAL out of ATL. Hell will freeze over before that happens.
 
Congrats to all the AAI folks. I am sure that both will get along very well. Good Luck!;)

And General...I think you just Pee'd a little down your pant leg....I'm just sayin? :laugh:
 
whatitdoing? said:
Jesus, Delta pilots just don't get it. Dude, look at your statement.

1. Delta isn't gonna be the largest airline as of Oct. 1. So I'll let you make that statement to Friday if that's what get's you hard. What on earth is Delta gonna do when they can't say, "World's Largest Airline". Fly us...."we're just that cool".

2. Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world. Ok....so what? ATL is a transfer point with little originating passengers. Those originating passengers are gonna go to SW unless they're international. But Delta get's a huge amount of money from passengers to airports like LGA, DCA, JFK, and MCO. Now SW is gonna eat your lunch. So if flying into ATL and saying "I fly into the world's busiest airport" puts a smile on your face, ok. Just remember that when you see nothing but orange flying around.

3. SWA earned 112 or so million for a quarter. You're saying because Delta pulled in 463 million that you're better? Remind me how much you lost over the last 5 years compared to SW. Again, can't see the forrest from the trees.

4. Good luck
Click to expand...

Ya know, just reading this, it's hard to believe you call Delta arrogant. At least by even YOUR reasoning DAL will be the second or third biggest airline So at least now that SWA is going to be eating if for lunch as you say, it will be a lot of lunches.
 
Question... What is the likelyhood there will be the same payrate on the 717 as the 737? does anyone know how many seats the 717 can have in an all coach config?
 
Mongolikecandy said:
Question... What is the likelyhood there will be the same payrate on the 717 as the 737? does anyone know how many seats the 717 can have in an all coach config?
Click to expand...

Don't know how the payrate will work for both types but at AT it's the same. Whatever the all coach capacity of the 717 is, it will still be about 15-20 less than a -700. With the AT biz class config it's 117 to 137 if I remember the 37 correctly.
 
Question... What is the likelyhood there will be the same payrate on the 717 as the 737? does anyone know how many seats the 717 can have in an all coach config?
Click to expand...

1st question: Dunno, but I bet the company will try for a lower payrate.
2nd question: 117 (per our CP today, assuming he was quoting all-coach numbers.) Not much less than a 737, esp the -500 at 122
 
The industry's answer to overcapacity has always been to gobble-up smaller airlines. There will be furloughs! IMHO
 
@#*@!!!??*%$

Guess I should have taken that class back in March instead of bypassing!!!! Oh well. AT says I gotta re-interview now, got that sinking feeling, not good.
 
Mongolikecandy said:
Question... What is the likelyhood there will be the same payrate on the 717 as the 737? does anyone know how many seats the 717 can have in an all coach config?
Click to expand...

Already said the 717 would be an all coach config with only 117 seats. That's gonna make it a pretty roomy cabin. Surprised they're not going to try and stuff more seats in there
 
spciii said:
1st question: Dunno, but I bet the company will try for a lower payrate.
2nd question: 117 (per our CP today, assuming he was quoting all-coach numbers.) Not much less than a 737, esp the -500 at 122
Click to expand...
117 seats is configured for business class. My guess would be that you could squeeze at least another 3-8 seats. I was just wondering if anyone knew the actual number.
 
dicko said:
Thank you sir. An excellent link. I think that we're all going to get along just fine.

On another note. PCL128 has been sighted; He emerged from a cupboard where he has been crouched since 7:30 this morning. It has been reported that he spent his time gorging on bread and making small cuts on his inner thigh. :D
Click to expand...

I heard he was in Herndon, VA slobbing all the knobs, trying his best to get a National job ASAP.
 

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