Cujo55
FedEx Purple Nugget
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2005
- Posts
- 34
Phoenix courting Southwest Airlines City wants to put airport in forefront
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 16, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
Phoenix economic development officials visited Southwest Airlines officials in Dallas late last week as part of the city's continuing quest to be the front-runner if the wildly successful carrier ever decides to uproot its headquarters.
The hush-hush meeting, in contrast to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's very public courting of the airline in recent weeks, was with some of the airline's operations, legal and government affairs staff. Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly was not involved.
Barry Broome, chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, known as GPEC, called it a fact-finding mission rather than a hard-core sales pitch. That was underscored by Gordon's absence. Bruce MacTurk, economic development program manager for Phoenix, went with Broome.
advertisement
OAS_AD('BoxAd')http://q.azcentral.com/RealMedia/ad...s300x250.gif/34343665376436363434313938363730
"It was more of a tire-kicking," Broome said.
He said they toured the airline's operations at Love Field, where Southwest has about 5,500 workers at its headquarters and airport operations.
"A lot of the dialogue in general was about how Southwest Airlines, Sky Harbor Airport and the Valley can work more closely together to drive better air service and increase Southwest's presence here," he said.
Broome said GPEC, a regional economic development group, is trying to regularly visit more of the out-of-state companies with large operations in the area to keep the region in the forefront for corporate expansions and the rare headquarters move.
He said Southwest, which is already huge in Phoenix with 4,200 employees and 200 daily departures, naturally jumped to the top of the list when rumblings about its frustrations in Dallas surfaced.
The airline is intensely lobbying to repeal the Wright Amendment, a 27-year-old law that allows Southwest to fly non-stop from Dallas to only a handful of neighboring states. In their yearlong battle, top executives have suggested, subtly and not so subtly, that they might seek another home if they can't grow in their hometown.
Despite the public posturing, Broome said Southwest made it clear that it has no intention of moving from Dallas.
Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart said the airline owes it to its key cities such as Phoenix to listen to their pitches but that its goal "is to remain in Dallas."
To those who say Southwest might be playing cities like Phoenix to its political advantage, Broome says it doesn't matter because what's good for Southwest is good for Phoenix. (Southwest says it didn't initiate any of this lobbying.)
"Any way we can get into the room to talk to leaders of the company, we'll take it," Broome said. "If our dialogue is helping them with the Wright Amendment, I'm not uncomfortable with that."
Although wooing the headquarters is a long shot, Broome said it's critical that GPEC and others stay on top of developments in Dallas and continue to work closely with Southwest about expansion opportunities in Phoenix. The airline's growth in recent years has been more focused on the East Coast and Midwest.
"It's really, from our perspective, kind of positioning ourselves to be prepared . . . if the headquarters come into play," he said.
He said Southwest doesn't get the credit it deserves in Dallas and has to play second fiddle to American Airlines, the industry giant with its main hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
American and Dallas-Fort Worth are not in favor of changing the Wright Amendment, which was created to protect the then-new airport.
"From my standpoint professionally, they shouldn't be in Dallas where they're a second-class citizen," Broome said.
There has been some progress in the past week on the political front in Dallas.
Broome said economic development officials will continue to study Southwest's needs and meet with officials there. He hopes to arrange a meeting with top executives in the next few months to learn more about the company and the industry.
"This is going to be a long-term discussion," he said. "There's not going to be anything imminent."
[/FONT]
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 16, 2006 12:00 AM
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
Phoenix economic development officials visited Southwest Airlines officials in Dallas late last week as part of the city's continuing quest to be the front-runner if the wildly successful carrier ever decides to uproot its headquarters.
The hush-hush meeting, in contrast to Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's very public courting of the airline in recent weeks, was with some of the airline's operations, legal and government affairs staff. Southwest Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly was not involved.
Barry Broome, chief executive officer of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, known as GPEC, called it a fact-finding mission rather than a hard-core sales pitch. That was underscored by Gordon's absence. Bruce MacTurk, economic development program manager for Phoenix, went with Broome.
advertisement
"It was more of a tire-kicking," Broome said.
He said they toured the airline's operations at Love Field, where Southwest has about 5,500 workers at its headquarters and airport operations.
"A lot of the dialogue in general was about how Southwest Airlines, Sky Harbor Airport and the Valley can work more closely together to drive better air service and increase Southwest's presence here," he said.
Broome said GPEC, a regional economic development group, is trying to regularly visit more of the out-of-state companies with large operations in the area to keep the region in the forefront for corporate expansions and the rare headquarters move.
He said Southwest, which is already huge in Phoenix with 4,200 employees and 200 daily departures, naturally jumped to the top of the list when rumblings about its frustrations in Dallas surfaced.
The airline is intensely lobbying to repeal the Wright Amendment, a 27-year-old law that allows Southwest to fly non-stop from Dallas to only a handful of neighboring states. In their yearlong battle, top executives have suggested, subtly and not so subtly, that they might seek another home if they can't grow in their hometown.
Despite the public posturing, Broome said Southwest made it clear that it has no intention of moving from Dallas.
Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart said the airline owes it to its key cities such as Phoenix to listen to their pitches but that its goal "is to remain in Dallas."
To those who say Southwest might be playing cities like Phoenix to its political advantage, Broome says it doesn't matter because what's good for Southwest is good for Phoenix. (Southwest says it didn't initiate any of this lobbying.)
"Any way we can get into the room to talk to leaders of the company, we'll take it," Broome said. "If our dialogue is helping them with the Wright Amendment, I'm not uncomfortable with that."
Although wooing the headquarters is a long shot, Broome said it's critical that GPEC and others stay on top of developments in Dallas and continue to work closely with Southwest about expansion opportunities in Phoenix. The airline's growth in recent years has been more focused on the East Coast and Midwest.
"It's really, from our perspective, kind of positioning ourselves to be prepared . . . if the headquarters come into play," he said.
He said Southwest doesn't get the credit it deserves in Dallas and has to play second fiddle to American Airlines, the industry giant with its main hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
American and Dallas-Fort Worth are not in favor of changing the Wright Amendment, which was created to protect the then-new airport.
"From my standpoint professionally, they shouldn't be in Dallas where they're a second-class citizen," Broome said.
There has been some progress in the past week on the political front in Dallas.
Broome said economic development officials will continue to study Southwest's needs and meet with officials there. He hopes to arrange a meeting with top executives in the next few months to learn more about the company and the industry.
"This is going to be a long-term discussion," he said. "There's not going to be anything imminent."
[/FONT]
