SWA going to MKE

[climbhappy]

MSN, home of the Badgers is the where the real excitement is... they were drinking pitchers by the lake at the student union on a tuesday morning at 1100am... Pilots paradise..

 

[Tejas-Jet]

"no way SWA will make it there...they don't know how to operate in cold weather"

Told to me by a flight Attendant when SWA started service into BWI in 1993 with flights to just 2 destinations...her airline had the most flights at BWI at that time.

 

[BUDDHA145]

It's going to be hard for Republic to compete against SWA in MKE!

I don't know why you compare Sw to Rep we're no even close yet!!!

A friend of mine make this funny joke!!:

"why fly Southwest when you can pay 100 bucks more to fly on the mighty 170 and get attitude from our FA's.... oh that is right, you get 2 cookies! Genius!":smash:

in a totall serius note this could be Midwest final dagger!!!

uke:management!!!

 

[jonjuan]

"no way SWA will make it there...they don't know how to operate in cold weather"

Told to me by a flight Attendant when SWA started service into BWI in 1993 with flights to just 2 destinations...her airline had the most flights at BWI at that time.

And you married her.

 

[Whataburger]

I'm thinking MKE to DEN, MDW, BOS, LAS, SNA, MCO, FLL. Start with 24 flights/day.

 

[General Lee]

Has SWA hedged on de-icing fluid?

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[MSNFlier]

MSN & Memorial Union...

Climbhappy - Are you from MSN? I grew up there and went to UW for undergrad and law school. There is simply no better place in the world (to us UW Badgers) to drink a beer than the Memorial Union about this time of year. The wildlife is usually quite plentiful and happy that it's spring!

 

[airline#5]

AAI will turn tail and run...guarantee it. A slow, quiet reduction in flying in spite of recent announcements. Not enough $$$ on hand to punch it out with SWA over a long haul. The SW hedges will be paying off for years to come, even while they are gone now. $ucks for weaklings like AAI, Midwest, etc., but hey that's Capitalism. Wouldn't change it for the world. Obama on the other hand...

 

[Colonel Savage]

AAI will turn tail and run......

I guess being at "airline #5" makes you an expert on airlines that "turn tail and run".

 

[firstthird]

A The SW hedges will be paying off for years to come, even while they are gone now.

if you mean that SWA will be paying money to settle our hedging debts, then yes, you are correct. if you mean that we're making money on hedges, you are dead wrong.

We would've made 30 million in the first quarter and instead lost 20, due to a 50 million real money hedge cost.

we have another 950 million that we owe over the next 3 years or so, about 250 a year plus a little after that. So, we don't start making money for the year until we make at least 250 million to pay off the hedging hangover. karma's a biatch and it is time for us to pay up for all the undercharging we did when we were making money on hedges.

didn't you wonder why airtran and jetblue both posted profits in the first quarter and SWA didn't. hedging. bad hedging.

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

I'm going to put my money on AAI... They're already established there and offer great value for their fares, XM radio and soon WIFI. Southwest has neither of those nor a business class like AAI does... And btw, I think AAI made some money last quarter-- SWA lost a bit...

 

[Daddy]

I'm putting my money on airline management...either way, the pilots will get screwed. JBLU pilots are not smart enough to organize even with their pitiful pay rates, SWA pilots are voting in a TA lagging every other employee group, AAI pilots are in disarray...yep, my money is on management to get paid no matter how poorly they do at ANY airport. The rest is just noise.

 

[StopNTSing]

I'm going to put my money on AAI... They're already established there and offer great value for their fares, XM radio and soon WIFI. Southwest has neither of those nor a business class like AAI does... And btw, I think AAI made some money last quarter-- SWA lost a bit...

Honestly, if I hear this asinine argument one more time from yet another FI know-it-all, I think I'll hurl! Southwest became the largest domestic carrier in the USA in spite of no first-class, no meals, and no IFE. So can we please dispense with that utterly useless comparison! Apparently most travelers are more concerned with a reasonable ticket price, an expectation that they will actually get to their destination on time, and customer service that is not on par with the DMV.

 

[Colonel Savage]

Honestly, if I hear this asinine argument one more time from yet another FI know-it-all, I think I'll hurl!! Southwest became the largest domestic carrier in the USA in spite of no first-class, no meals, and no IFE. So can we please dispense with that utterly useless comparison!! Apparently most travelers are more concerned with a reasonable ticket price, an expectation that they will actually get to their destination on time, and customer service that is not on par with the DMV!!

Hmmm. Touch a nerve did we?

And don't forget that nearly BILLION DOLLARS in fuel hedges you guys have to repay over the next four years.

 

[firstthird]

And don't forget that nearly BILLION DOLLARS in fuel hedges you guys have to repay over the next four years.

don't worry, we won't. and maybe our union will even bring it up at some point. I had a BOD member on the J/S and mentioned it to him, he didn't know what I was talking about. a little scary. not that it matters that much, it is what it is. the 3 company fuel hedgers have put the other 32,000 employees into a deep stall, the rest of us get to fly it out over the next 3 years. We pissed away our advantage when we were making beaucoup bucks from fuel hedges by underpricing our product. no major players went under. everyone else got their costs down, and now here we are 4 years later, with an added 250 million a year in bad hedges to pay off. karma is a biatch.

 

[StopNTSing]

Hmmm. Touch a nerve did we?

And don't forget that nearly BILLION DOLLARS in fuel hedges you guys have to repay over the next four years.

Why did you add all those exclamation points, bold face, and larger font size when you quoted my original post? Nice editorializing there, Colonel....you've got a real future in print journalism if this aviation thing doesn't pan out for you.

My response was not directed at the Tranny specifically. If you review the FI archives you will see my point that the same tired argument has been brought up ad nauseam with SWA vs. Frontier, jetblue, Virgin, etc, etc, etc.

P.S. Thanks for your concern over our hedges, but don't get too smug about them yet. Last I looked jet-A was $60/bbl and rising...

 

[firstthird]

Last I looked jet-A was $60/bbl and rising...

which is going to cost us as well, since we got rid of most of our hedges and no longer have the cash to hedge much in the future. the billion in payoffs is independent of where oil goes. if it goes to 10 bucks or 140 bucks, we still owe a billion dollars over the next 4 or so years.

 

[StopNTSing]

which is going to cost us as well, since we got rid of most of our hedges and no longer have the cash to hedge much in the future. the billion in payoffs is independent of where oil goes. if it goes to 10 bucks or 140 bucks, we still owe a billion dollars over the next 4 or so years.

I stand corrected....we're screwed. Wasn't this thread about MKE?

 

[Splert]

which is going to cost us as well, since we got rid of most of our hedges and no longer have the cash to hedge much in the future. the billion in payoffs is independent of where oil goes. if it goes to 10 bucks or 140 bucks, we still owe a billion dollars over the next 4 or so years.

I thought LUV hedges were still in place though 2012 or 16. LUV just unwound 2009 and 2010.

 

[Colonel Savage]

Why did you add all those exclamation points, bold face, and larger font size when you quoted my original post? Nice editorializing there, Colonel....

Well I just added a few, one each to the first two you used, and then the last line was the only one that didn't have one, so..... And the font size and bold face seemed to match your level of pique over the matter, so I did indulge a little. No offence intended, and it is FI you know. haha (Tranny's hedged at $60/bbl, btw)

Hey, you guys may get your hair mussed a little the next few years, but you've had a really good ride for a while now. That's all anyone is good for in this business.