SWA/AT traffic way off in ATL

[Citrusflyer]

Maybe they subtly traded ATL for DAL?

Doubt they ever wanted to be "big" in ATL.

 

[General Lee]

LOL! You guys are getting your butts kicked, plain and simple. No wonder you didn't want DL at Love Field...... Many frequent fliers at AT liked their cheaper "first class" service and XM radio. SWA came in thinking everyone would like the cattle car service with fares that weren't always the cheapest. Ummmmm nope. Not everyone wants to fly for, or even fly in the back of a Corndog.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Doubt they ever wanted to be "big" in ATL.

It worked then! Thanks. Btw, DL is hiring, a lot. Wanna stay in ATL? You got a good chance with DL.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[HowardBorden]

Different company = different business model. SWA is not a hub and spoke airline, meaning SWA does not operate near the number of flights out of ATL, then turning around and returning to ATL. SWA said from day one of the merger that ATL would shrink the number of flights operated by AirTran.

Kelly pointed out that it is phasing out AirTran's Boeing 717s, which have 117 seats, and replacing them with Boeing 737s with 143 seats.
"In other words the trip count won't equate to the seat count, and I'll just ask you to stay tuned on that," he said.
Added Kelly as he was answering an analyst's question about rebuilding Atlanta's flight numbers:
"Atlanta is very important to us. We've had a wonderful reception there. Atlanta was a challenge for AirTran, and we're seeing very meaningful improvements in the local market in particular."
"So we have a big step coming up next month to convert to the point-to-point route system. If 'radical' is the right word, it's a radical change for the operation. And the bookings so far look very solid. So I don't see a misstep there, and I'm anxious to see if we can build the business from here.
"At the same time, we are really hampered by the fact that it's not all one brand, and the majority of the flights are still AirTran. And I think we're all looking forward to the day where it's all Southwest. That'll really put us in a position where we can best answer your question, and that won't be until the end of next year.
"So we got a ways to go. We're very committed to the market. Regardless of the number of departures that we have, we are going to have a very large presence in Atlanta."
AirTran has been operating a connecting hub in Atlanta, but, as Kelly said, plans to change its schedule to emphasize point-to-point flying trips that start or end in Atlanta.


"That's right in line with what we would traditionally do," Romo said. Kelly then followed up on her point.
"Atlanta is one of the biggest cities that we operate in, period," Kelly said. "It's bigger than Dallas, bigger than Houston, two original cities. Bigger than LA, bigger than Oakland. The list goes on and on and on. It's a very large operation for Southwest Airlines."

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...hrinkage.html/

 

[General Lee]

Different company = different business model. SWA is not a hub and spoke airline, meaning SWA does not operate near the number of flights out of ATL, then turning around and returning to ATL. SWA said from day one of the merger that ATL would shrink the number of flights operated by AirTran.

Kelly pointed out that it is phasing out AirTran?s Boeing 717s, which have 117 seats, and replacing them with Boeing 737s with 143 seats.
?In other words the trip count won?t equate to the seat count, and I?ll just ask you to stay tuned on that,? he said.
Added Kelly as he was answering an analyst?s question about rebuilding Atlanta?s flight numbers:
?Atlanta is very important to us. We?ve had a wonderful reception there. Atlanta was a challenge for AirTran, and we?re seeing very meaningful improvements in the local market in particular.
?So we have a big step coming up next month to convert to the point-to-point route system. If ?radical? is the right word, it?s a radical change for the operation. And the bookings so far look very solid. So I don?t see a misstep there, and I?m anxious to see if we can build the business from here.
?At the same time, we are really hampered by the fact that it?s not all one brand, and the majority of the flights are still AirTran. And I think we?re all looking forward to the day where it?s all Southwest. That?ll really put us in a position where we can best answer your question, and that won?t be until the end of next year.
?So we got a ways to go. We?re very committed to the market. Regardless of the number of departures that we have, we are going to have a very large presence in Atlanta.?
AirTran has been operating a connecting hub in Atlanta, but, as Kelly said, plans to change its schedule to emphasize point-to-point flying ? trips that start or end in Atlanta.


?That?s right in line with what we would traditionally do,? Romo said. Kelly then followed up on her point.
?Atlanta is one of the biggest cities that we operate in, period,? Kelly said. ?It?s bigger than Dallas, bigger than Houston, two original cities. Bigger than LA, bigger than Oakland. The list goes on and on and on. It?s a very large operation for Southwest Airlines.?

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...hrinkage.html/

In other words, "we are getting our butts kicked..." True, the smaller 717s are getting replaced by larger 737s, but the larger planes are just one part of your overall problems. I don't think you can turn a full 737-800 in 25 mins. That may be why you fell so far down in the ontime rankings. Well, hopefully things go smoother in your upcoming negotiations. Stay strong, bro!


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[HowardBorden]

In other words, "we are getting our butts kicked..." True, the smaller 717s are getting replaced by larger 737s, but the larger planes are just one part of your overall problems. I don't think you can turn a full 737-800 in 25 mins. That may be why you fell so far down in the ontime rankings. Well, hopefully things go smoother in your upcoming negotiations. Stay strong, bro!


Bye Bye---General Lee

In other words we are upgauging 88 airframes. 88 717's leaving with 117 seats equals 10,296 seats.

Replaced with 54 -800's and 34 -700's equals 14,414 seats.
A net gain of 4,418 revenue generating seats available for sale.

If we are indeed getting our butts kicked, our record first quarter profit certainly does not reflect it.

 

[General Lee]

In other words we are upgauging 88 airframes. 88 717's leaving with 117 seats equals 10,296 seats.

Replaced with 54 -800's and 34 -700's equals 14,414 seats.
A net gain of 4,418 revenue generating seats available for sale.

If we are indeed getting our butts kicked, our record first quarter profit certainly does not reflect it.

What about parking 737-300s and 737-500s? I thought it was more seats but fewer airframes? (738s vs 733/735s). Regardless, I'm glad you had record profits, even though you are getting your azz kicked in ATL. It's probably because of your tight reign on DAL Love and your new INTL terminal in HOU. Well done! Make sure you bring those points up in negotiations.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[HowardBorden]

What about parking 737-300s and 737-500s? I thought it was more seats but fewer airframes? (738s vs 733/735s).

That's just it, you know not of what you speak.

Classics leaving the fleet in '14: 1 -300, 3 -500's.

NG's added to the fleet in '14: 33 -800's, 20 -700's.

(The 20 extra -700's are in addition to the AT 700's making the transition in '14)

 

[Flycatcher99]

In other words, "we are getting our butts kicked..." True, the smaller 717s are getting replaced by larger 737s, but the larger planes are just one part of your overall problems. I don't think you can turn a full 737-800 in 25 mins. That may be why you fell so far down in the ontime rankings. Well, hopefully things go smoother in your upcoming negotiations. Stay strong, bro!


Bye Bye---General Lee

In other words, "I'm a doofus who sucks at reading comprehension."

Kelly is saying that a more fair comparison can be made once the integration is complete and the networks are completely unified. He said SWA will have a strong presence in ATL, and I don't see a reason why that won't be the case. SWA moved into DEN and pushed both United and Frontier around. Delta is obviously stronger than United, but the fare structure would appear to support SWA growing in ATL and forcing Delta to play along on fares.

One more note: it's interesting that Air Tran's market share in ATL went down substantially from '07 to '10, which suggests that if SWA hadn't stepped in and bought AT, the trend might have continued with difficulties for AT.

 

[Luv2BFlyin]

One more note: it's interesting that Air Tran's market share in ATL went down substantially from '07 to '10, which suggests that if SWA hadn't stepped in and bought AT, the trend might have continued with difficulties for AT.

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today reported December and full-year 2010 traffic. The low-cost leader recorded all-time annual records for available seat miles, load factor and enplaned passengers.

Yeah, there was a definite trend by the end of 2010.

From the same article:
In addition to these traffic milestones, AirTran Airways also posted its best operational performance in the airline's history in 2010. This stellar accomplishment includes an industry leading on-time arrival mark of 82.7 percent. Despite the impact of severe winter storms occurring on the two busiest days of the month, AirTran finished December with a 98.6 percent completion percentage (the percentage of flights completed), ending the year with a completion percentage of 98.9 percent. The airline also continued its industry leading and new record low mishandled baggage rates of less than two bags per 1,000 passengers.

Those are numbers another airline could only dream of.