Southwest is buying somebody...or something

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

NO RED-EYES?!?!?!?!

Dam, your missing out on the easy commutes, the easy controllers and the great layovers!!! Well, at least here at F9 that's how they are, don't know how they would be there at SWA.

OK, back to topic...

Love the red eyes, 25 hours in LAS is great, and if commute its the way to go. There are some benefits to the red eye.

 

[PCL_128]

From what I hear your lineholders don't get that much time off.

You hear wrong. My very first line off of reserve had 17 days off. Typical lines have between 15-18 days off.

Additionally, we only have about 8% of our lines as reserve. Talk about quality of life. What percent of the lines at Air Tran are reserve?

This month it's 11%. The contract requires a minimum of 10%, which prevents junior assignments and extensions for lineholders. It always in the 10-12% range.

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

and all this time....

Lobster's have ball's? I finally learn something useful on here.

....you thought you were just eating the tail!!!

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

Rule #2 is nice, but...

...it is no guarantee of job security. UAL used to brag about billions of $$ in the bank and they ended up in CH. 11.

It is nice, but no guarantee of security. The bigger the beast, the more it eats. In tough times the cash can go very quickly.

SWA is still and probably will remain one of the best in the industry for years to come, but there will be more challenges and they may need to reinvent some things with their model.
IMO

The 2 biggest reasons I hope SWA buys us is:

1. the 1,2,3 rule
2. the Billions SWA has in the bank (job security)

I could care less whether I'm doin standups, red eyes, brown eyes... whatever.

 

[Donald]

...it is no guarantee of job security. UAL used to brag about billions of $$ in the bank and they ended up in CH. 11.

It is nice, but no guarantee of security. The bigger the beast, the more it eats. In tough times the cash can go very quickly.

SWA is still and probably will remain one of the best in the industry for years to come, but there will be more challenges and they may need to reinvent some things with their model.
IMO

Accurate point Jeff. Things are fine at SWA right now, but we and the company know the fuel hedging is dwindling. The company and the unions know this and we are all tightening our belts and bracing ourselves for what could be a rough ride. I don't think we will see any major changes at SWA. Continued "slow" growth and adjustments to our routes to more profitable markets. If someone has a fire sale on 737-700's, you may see us pick some up and if any gates are vacated that we think will offer a profit, we may expand into those.

 

[FlyinGuy]

Hedging dwindiling???

 

[Donald]

Hedging dwindiling???

Absolutely. I don't have the phase out schedule, but someone on here has posted it before. Basically the amount of hedging decreases each year until its gone completely. If I find it, I will try to post it.

 

[Skyboy722]

Absolutely. I don't have the phase out schedule, but someone on here has posted it before. Basically the amount of hedging decreases each year until its gone completely. If I find it, I will try to post it.

Donald, this is only partially accurate. If the fuel dept. (or whatever it is) closed it's doors and they all went home, then yes, our hedges would run out. But our hedging position is always evolving. Rewind to our hedge forcast from just a few years ago: according to that, we should have run out by now!

 

[ATLplt]

I think a LUV/AS would make more sense, but now (if approved) the largest airline in the world's hub is ATL. I believe that makes AAI very tasty right now. Im a bit nervous. Im not the smartest man but If I wanted to compete directly with the new DAL I would want a large presence in ATL.

I've thought the same thing...CAL comes to mind.

 

[ATLplt]

It would take many years for any LCC to have the compensation that SWA offers.

We'll have it in TA 23. Just you wait!

 

[fiel12]

Roofing in PHX?
I used to have a job as a hot tar roofer. Yeah... I remember that day.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Personally, I'd prefer SWA bought my airline. It would be nice to work for airline management that has a clue...

 

[Falcon Jet 1]

hedges were running out 6 years ago when I started, hae'nt run out yet. Not at the price they were 6 years ago, but a lot less than everyone else is paying now.

 

[GuppyWN]

The hedges have been running out for 20 years!

Gup

 

[Lear70]

You'd be better off calling them "industry-leading hedges".

These days, everyone's gotten on the hedging bandwagon, and that's the real kicker. As the low-priced fuel hedges run out and the hedges in place creep higher and higher in cost, their profitability suffers, so they will have to adjust accordingly.

Either charge more for the seats, or become even MORE efficient. Not much wiggle room for anything else, but I'm certain they'll figure it out.