SWA wants to fly from HOU to MEX and SouthAmerica

[outerlimits]

Oak

United to pull out of Oakland airport in June

United to pull out of Oakland airport in June - San Jose Mercury News

By Matthias Gafni and Rick Hurd
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 04/09/2012 06:04:34 AM PDT
Updated: 04/09/2012 06:04:51 AM PDT

OAKLAND -- United Airlines will terminate its operations at Oakland International airport on June 4, an airport representative said Saturday night.
"We're very disappointed that we're losing our longtime partner," said airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. United has serviced Oakland airport for 75 years.
However, United only serves 1.4 percent of the airport's passengers with 11 weekly flights to Denver, the airlines hub.
"The financial performance of the flights has made the losses too great to allow us to maintain the service," United spokeswoman Mary Clark told a USA Today blog.
Clark tells the blog United "will contact customers currently booked on our flights between Oakland and Denver and offer to either reaccommodate them on other flights or provide a refund."
United will continue flying out of San Francisco International and San Jose airports.​

Southwest needs to pull out of OAK and only fly into SFO. It is the right thing to do.

Help me out here Flop

 

[ASADFW7]

The topic isn't flop against SWA, though it has turned into such. Please try to get back to topic versus username against the board please.

 

[HighSpeedClimb]

HAS recommends HOU international service

In the midst of a heated battle between Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL), the Houston Airport System declared its support for Southwest's efforts to allow international flight offerings at Hobby Airport.

Citing a $1.6 billion annual economic impact and the creation of more than 10,000 jobs, Mario Diaz, HAS’ director of aviation, recommended April 9 that Mayor Annise Parker approve Southwest’s plans to expand the federal inspection services facility at Hobby. If the mayor accepts this recommendation, Houston City Council would vote to approve Southwest’s proposal, which would allow the airline to begin getting federal approvals to fly international commercial flights.

HAS based its recommendation on a study from InterVistas Consulting LLC and GRA Inc. that found Chicago-based United and its affiliates have a “near monopoly” on Latin America-area services and having an international airport at Hobby would create positive competition, along with lower air fares.

United was not pleased with HAS’ decision since the airline has been arguing that if Southwest were allowed to operate international flights at Hobby, United would have to displace 1,300 employees at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which is Houston’ only airport operating commercial international flights.

In a statement, United said of the HAS study that “the assumptions that underlie the analysis are so contrived that it is clear that they were designed to reach a predetermined conclusion.”

United also argues that splitting Houston’s international air service will create a negative impact on IAH, where United is investing $700 million to redevelop Terminal B. Instead, the airline is lobbying to have international Southwest flights at IAH.

However, Mario Diaz, argued an opposing point in his statement.

“I have concluded given Southwest’s existing and sizable domestic network operation at Hobby, it would not be reasonable to require the airline to relocate to Bush Intercontinental Airport, or even conduct split operations,” he said.

Dallas-based Southwest applauded HAS’ decision, and Gary Kelly, the airline’s CEO, said this proves that international travelers believe competition between airlines is a good thing.

 

[Flopgut]

Houston is going to need to decide if they are a leading city in the petroleum, oil and gas services industry. Or if they are in the sun tan oil business...IAH is going to take a big hit.

If this had been a possibility 20 years ago, I'm quite sure CAL would have been doing it. Shoot, TI was there flying to Mexico before SWA started. I think. Frankly, if this is approved, SWA should go to the end of the list of airlines who have first crack at it.

United/CAL indeed does have a large presence at IAH. But it's no where near the kind of fortress hub DFW was. We don't taxi slow. We don't clog up the airport just for fun. Real crappy thing to have the officials spoil a game.

Ain't over yet.

 

[scoreboardII]

Yep, nothing like a perpetuating a monopoly to keep things fair.

 

[Flopgut]

Heh, your airport. That's good stuff right there.

I can't quite tell if you're just a person that is so arrogant to think that everyone should conform to your rules, or someone that is so afraid of one more bad thing happening to your company that you're just circling the wagons and using the "competition only IAH" as a excuse.

Yeah, I am tired of bad things happening to my company. Between UAL and CAL we've got 5 BKs (I think), Lorenzo, Smisek, Tilton, lost two planes on 911, lost pensions, turned down twice for a loan from ATSB, and our latest merger is a plate of human crap. And I know the SWA "warriors" applaud every aweful thing that hits us. Fine. Even so, I don't wish any of that on them.

This is a stupid move by the city. I've read the Chronicle blogs, and it's abundantly clear there would be no support for this if we were still just Continental. Not sure we desreve this (I am sure SWA doesn't deserve this sort of consideration), we did a lot for Houston. SWA hasn't done crap for this city except pass through.

Yep, nothing like a perpetuating a monopoly to keep things fair.

What's a bigger monopoly? What you've got at Love (which is exactly what you want to do at Hobby)? Or what we're talking about at IAH?

 

[Flopgut]

What is wrong with starting service where there is none. It's called good business.

The only reason there is no intl service there is it's not allowed. I mean, come on: You understand if it was allowed some airline would already be doing it? And it would not be SWA...

It's not good business to exclude my company for decades from the same opportunity SWA now wants.

 

[taxicabdriver]

I don't understand why UAL couldn't compete with SWA wherever they are? They no longer have the advantage with the fuel hedges, have older and less fuel-efficient airplanes, and they have higher wages to pay their pilots....What am I missing?

 

[humveedriver]

FYI Flop; Southwest is starting service out of other Texas cities to Mexico. They are just doing it with their lower cost wholly owned subsidiary.

http://www.bizjournals.com/mobile/austin/news/2012/02/03/airtran-plans-austin-to-cancun-flights.html


http://pressroom.airtran.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=201565&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=1630841

 

[SKC]

I've never enjoyed watching other airlines suffer. I have friends throughout this industry. Why would I want them to have to deal with BK, or any other rough time this industry can throw out? That would be pretty stupid.

What I don't enjoy is other companies doing everything in their power to limit my income (and my company's) potential. Southwest has done nothing to prohibit any other company from operating from DAL or HOU, so why should we sit around and let Unitental whine and cry and say they'll lose thousands of jobs, bla bla bla just because SWA wants to operate some intl trips from Hobby? How the city of Houston will lose jobs because of it. It's all just hogwash.

You fly out of whatever airports you want to operate from. We'll operate out of whatever airports we want to operate from. You make your money. We'll make our money.

If you're truly as good as you say, you don't have anything to worry about.