SWA going to Denver!!!

[F9 Driver]

Easy Francis. Just civil discussion for the most part.

Don't get 'em in a wad just yet

 

[vc10]

Misleading.

1) in almost every significant connecting market, airlines are price takers. So the fact that F9's connecting fares are similar to WN's is meaningless. You make money on nonstop fares.

2) WN's stage length is smaller than F9s, considerably. Costs and fares typically increase as stage length decreases. So it's not that surprising that WN's fares are higher than F9's. The issue is whether they're higher on the same length flights.

:laugh:
Excerpt from a letter to employees that F9 CEO Jeff Potter released yesterday. It was printed in The Denver Post yesterday.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3136259

"...That being said, from a management standpoint, we too have been preparing ourselves for Southwest's entry, and I think it is important to note that not everything you have heard about Southwest is necessarily true. It's worth mentioning that we already compete with Southwest on about 75-80% of all F9 connecting markets (about 500 city pairs) and are competitive with them in pricing. While there is certainly no arguing their success, it may surprise you to know that based on the most recent DOT statistics (June quarter 2005), Southwest's fares were actually about 12 percent higher than Frontier's on a per-mile basis, in markets where we compete directly. Obviously, pricing power is one of Southwest's primary competitive advantages in the markets it enters, but that won't necessarily be the case here in Denver. In other words, we have been competing quite effectively for a long time...."

 

[F9 Driver]

Misleading.

1) in almost every significant connecting market, airlines are price takers. So the fact that F9's connecting fares are similar to WN's is meaningless. You make money on nonstop fares. Sorry vc, but I don't follow your logic. If you don't make money on connecting flights SWA's business model is seriously flawed (and I don't think it is.)

2) WN's stage length is smaller than F9s, considerably. Costs and fares typically increase as stage length decreases. So it's not that surprising that WN's fares are higher than F9's. The issue is whether they're higher on the same length flights.

The numbers were presented in a "town hall" meeting after SWA's announcement, and were stage length adjusted. We're very close in CASM ex-fuel & RASM IMHO.

 

[canyonblue]

The numbers were presented in a "town hall" meeting after SWA's announcement

Oh man, not another town hall meeting where the speaker "ala David Siegel " tell the employees that they are in for the fight of their lives. And no more Rocky comparisons.

 

[F9 Driver]

Naw. It just summed up what was said in the memo from the link I posted, and expanded on some of the points.

They did play "Eye of The Tiger" when Jeff Potter walked in though

 

[canyonblue]

That's good. You can see that the death match predicted by Siegel never came to fruition. Airways gained pax over the increased flying. I would imagine the same will happen in DEN.