Southwest Airlines To Boost Chicago Service In 1Q
By Elizabeth Souder, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, Dow
DALLAS (Dow Jones)--Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) (LUV) Chief Executive Gary Kelly said the airline plans to grow "significantly" in Chicago in response to ATA Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:ATAH)'s (ATAH) bankruptcy filing.
Kelly said he wants to add service at Southwest's fourth largest location, Chicago Midway Airport, in the first quarter. He said the growth is in response to AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI)'s (AAI) bidding to buy ATA's Chicago service.
Kelly declined to say how much Southwest will grow in Chicago. The airline has 19 gates at Midway and operates 145 daily flights there.
Kelly said the gates could accommodate 40 more daily flights. He said he hasn't decided whether to bid for more gates. "I think everything has changed now. ATA has outsourced capacity," he said. "There is no desire on our part to stand still in Chicago."
"Chicago is a battleground and has been a battleground historically," Southwest CEO Kelly said. "We feel like we've made a significant contribution in building Midway. The last thing we're going to do now, after all this building effort, is to not grow with the market."
Kelly said growth in Chicago doesn't preclude expansion in the airline's newest destination, Philadelphia, or adding more cities. Southwest has been growing at a rate of about 10% and will continue at about the same rate, he said.
"Our No. 1 priority today is Chicago Midway. Close behind is Philadelphia, if we can get more gate capacity," he said. Kelly said he is talking to Philadelphia airport officials about getting more gates there.
The CEO also said he is delaying decisions for other areas of growth until it is clear what opportunities are available. With a chunk of the U.S. airline industry operating in bankruptcy, many experts are anticipating a big shakeup.
Southwest Airlines President and Corporate Secretary Colleen Barrett also announced Thursday she is creating two new departments: a labor and employee relations department and a leadership and employee development department.
The new departments will not involve increasing headcount, but rearranging other employee oversight, she said.
-By Elizabeth Souder, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4148; elizabeth.souder@ dowjones.com
Dow Jones Newswires 10-28-041249ET
By Elizabeth Souder, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, Dow
DALLAS (Dow Jones)--Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) (LUV) Chief Executive Gary Kelly said the airline plans to grow "significantly" in Chicago in response to ATA Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ-NMS:ATAH)'s (ATAH) bankruptcy filing.
Kelly said he wants to add service at Southwest's fourth largest location, Chicago Midway Airport, in the first quarter. He said the growth is in response to AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AAI)'s (AAI) bidding to buy ATA's Chicago service.
Kelly declined to say how much Southwest will grow in Chicago. The airline has 19 gates at Midway and operates 145 daily flights there.
Kelly said the gates could accommodate 40 more daily flights. He said he hasn't decided whether to bid for more gates. "I think everything has changed now. ATA has outsourced capacity," he said. "There is no desire on our part to stand still in Chicago."
"Chicago is a battleground and has been a battleground historically," Southwest CEO Kelly said. "We feel like we've made a significant contribution in building Midway. The last thing we're going to do now, after all this building effort, is to not grow with the market."
Kelly said growth in Chicago doesn't preclude expansion in the airline's newest destination, Philadelphia, or adding more cities. Southwest has been growing at a rate of about 10% and will continue at about the same rate, he said.
"Our No. 1 priority today is Chicago Midway. Close behind is Philadelphia, if we can get more gate capacity," he said. Kelly said he is talking to Philadelphia airport officials about getting more gates there.
The CEO also said he is delaying decisions for other areas of growth until it is clear what opportunities are available. With a chunk of the U.S. airline industry operating in bankruptcy, many experts are anticipating a big shakeup.
Southwest Airlines President and Corporate Secretary Colleen Barrett also announced Thursday she is creating two new departments: a labor and employee relations department and a leadership and employee development department.
The new departments will not involve increasing headcount, but rearranging other employee oversight, she said.
-By Elizabeth Souder, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4148; elizabeth.souder@ dowjones.com
Dow Jones Newswires 10-28-041249ET
