SW Execs Boast They'll Conquer Delta's ATL w/ Air Tran Merger (& get a/c for Hawaii)

[Voice Of Reason]

SW Execs Boast They'll Conquer Delta's ATL w/ Air Tran Merger (& get a/c for Hawaii)

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"Execs: Atlanta could be Southwest's top city

Posted: October 30th, 2010 12:35 PM
By DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer
DALLAS --
Southwest Airlines Co. executives say Delta's hometown of Atlanta could become Southwest's top city within a few years after the company buys AirTran Airways.
CEO Gary Kelly also said that Southwest likely will buy new, larger planes from Boeing that would allow it to fly to Hawaii. The airline will need federal approval to fly the long over-water route to Hawaii with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Kelly and other Southwest officials talked about the company's plans at its annual media day on Thursday.
Hawaii would provide a plum destination for regular Southwest customers redeeming their frequent-flier credits, and Atlanta is a key market for business travelers.
Southwest doesn't fly to Atlanta right now, but AirTran operates about 200 flights a day there.
Executive Vice President Bob Jordan said Thursday that Southwest will augment AirTran's Atlanta service with flights to 20 or more cities where AirTran doesn't fly.
"It's easy to get to kind of 250-plus" daily flights while still being a distant second to Delta Air Lines Inc. in Atlanta, Jordan said.
Las Vegas is Southwest's top city, with 224 daily departures as of Aug. 15.
Kelly was a bit more guarded, saying he wasn't ready to predict that Atlanta will surpass Las Vegas and Chicago on the Southwest schedule, "but I think that's a fair guess."
That's assuming Southwest can keep AirTran's passengers. Some AirTran business travelers have groused online about the prospect of losing first-class seating and other perks not offered by Southwest.
Southwest made inroads against US Airways in Philadelphia and is taking on United in Denver. Now it will go head-to-head against Delta, the world's second-largest airline.
"You would assume that there is no way they would just sit back and do nothing," Jordan said. "This is going to be a fight."
Southwest announced last month it would buy AirTran Holdings Inc. for $1.4 billion.
The airline also gave more details about its partnership with Mexico's Volaris.
Beginning Nov. 12, travelers will be able to book travel to Mexico from about 20 U.S. cities served by Southwest. The cross-border flights will be operated by Volaris from Los Angeles, Oakland and San Jose, Calif.
And the Dallas-based airline set a price of $5 per flight for onboard Internet access. There's still no way, however, for customers to see on Southwest's website whether their plane will be among those outfitted for WiFi. Southwest says it will notify passengers by email if their flight is equipped with WiFi. It plans to have WiFi on 60 planes by year-end.
Kelly said the company expects to raise $5 million to $10 million per year from its WiFi service. He said user rates are low, but customers will come to expect the service, and Internet access will open up other forms of in-flight entertainment. " --Airport Business
http://www.airportbusiness.com/online/printer.jsp?id=40511
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[mach none]

Small bites of that apple my friend or you will choke.

 

[StopNTSing]

Thanks for the hype, but where do you get "SW Execs Boast They'll Conquer Delta's ATL w/ Air Tran Merger" out of quotes from the article like this: "It's easy to get to kind of 250-plus" daily flights while still being a distant second to Delta Air Lines Inc. in Atlanta, Jordan said.

There's plenty of room for both airlines in the A-T-L! :beer:

 

[Flying the Line]

Since Delta couldn't kill Airtran, they will probably wipe the floor with Southwest. Or maybe SWA will just open up 300+ waffle houses' to dominate ATL.

 

[Erlanger]

Before Southwest can brag about anything they'll do in ATL, they'd better take care of Airtran's business class people.

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwauke...cpc&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Flying the Line]

They might have been the difference for Airtran, but look at SW's track record for profits. Pretty telling, isn't it.

 

[cole]

The group claims to have gathered 403 petition signatures from AirTran frequent fliers, 94 percent of whom say they'll switch to another carrier if Southwest (NYSE: LUV) carries out its plan to retrofit AirTran planes to conform to Southwest's low-cost, egalitarian passenger standards.


Read more: AirTran fans beg Southwest to keep biz class | The Business Journal
Every pax counts, but I don't think this will be a huge problem!

 

[Flying the Line]

I'm not saying SWA will be making the right move or not with regards to these folks or not, I'm simply pointing out that SWA has not needed a busisness or first class to make money.

 

[Dan Roman]

I'm surprised nobody has made the following observation. Isn't one of SWA's major strengths the fact that they don't charge for bags? That has been a major strength for them, if Delta thinks SWA is making major inroads in ATL, what's to stop DAL from doing the same? Given the same free bags deal on DAL I'm sure SWA would have a much more difficult time competing. People fly LCC's because of the perception they are getting a deal, if that goes away, I would think people prefer the full service airlines if the price is the same.

 

[Skybus]

I would think people prefer the full service airlines if the price is the same.[/QUOTE

"Full Service" Hahahahahahahah!!

Does that "full service" include the attitude that so often is included? Once upon a time I may have accepted that comment. Today, the line is very blurry and unless you are an ultimate elite flyer, and then even sometime, I really don't think the average Business Man Bob would agree with your "full service" statement.