SWA wants to fly from HOU to MEX and SouthAmerica

[Jake Dawg]

Those councilman are the ones already on record in support of UAL/CAL having all int'l at IAH. Politics???

Council rips study painting Hobby expansion as boon

Updated 06:50 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2012

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...study-painting-Hobby-expansion-as-3486551.php



In a three-hour grilling of Houston Airports Director Mario Diaz, council members complained that the numbers in the study strained credulity, that they were kept in the dark about Southwest's pitch for at least eight months, that airport officials have been condescending and that council and others should have been asked for input before Diaz recommended approval of the Hobby expansion.

United had, perhaps, its finest day in the war over Houston's skies as council members expressed skepticism and sometimes hostility toward a study done in two months for $110,000 that is to guide council toward what the mayor called a "historic decision" in which billions of dollars are at stake for Houston.
"What may be the largest issue perhaps of the century, you all have blown it in my view," Councilman C.O. Bradford told Diaz. "This rollout simply has been a complete disaster. I mean lack of transparency, arbitrary time lines, total disregard, disrespect for council. It's just unconscionable."
'Custom-made'?
Councilman Al Hoang said, "I feel that this report is already biased, it's already custom-made just to satisfy the demand of Southwest."
A council chamber gallery usually vacant for committee meetings was packed with operatives for both airlines, which have enlisted lobbyists, former city officials, attorneys and public relations professionals to make their case to the 17-member council. Monday's hearing suggested that United's efforts have gained more traction.
Councilman Andrew Burks questioned the numbers in the report and singled out a projected fare of $133 to Bogota.
"You can't even fly from Houston to Lubbock on Southwest for $133," Burks said. "I really want to just throw this proposal out the window because, right now, when I see numbers that can't match, it just don't work for me."
United is working up its own study on the impact of an international Hobby. The two airlines are scheduled to square off in presentations before council on May 8.
Councilman Larry Green called for a new study to be done by a consultant with no recent ties to the city.

 

[Flopgut]

Hey bud, perhaps you should look what SWA did to your proud UAL/CAL in DEN. The majority of your mainline flying is gone. And if you think your superior revenue will win out, didn't work too well in DEN. Check your data for a change.

DAWG

There are 12 gates open at IAH right now. The city has them ready for you.

Glenn Tilton had more to do with what happened in DEN than SWA. Don't flatter yourself.

Those councilman are the ones already on record in support of UAL/CAL having all int'l at IAH. Politics???

Politics? You can't sugar coat the facts here. This $110,000 "study" is suspect at best. You shot yourselves in the foot. If your numbers were more realistic and these council members still had these thngs to say, you could cry "politics"....

 

[Double Shot]

Sugar coat the facts??? We all are still waiting for this agreement you spoke of you know...the one were you said all international flying was to be done out of iah. Sugar coating flop your just plain out lying.

Show us this bs agreement. That's right you can't

 

[nimtz]

According to Forbes article LUV wants a $100 mil hand out from Houston for this 'set free competition' project. Sorry folks that is BS. LUV needs to pay to build the facility and staff it. Otherwise go to IAH.

 

[texman]

It will not cost the city a dime!

 

[redflyer65]

Wasn't it being added to the fare at 1.50 per passenger? Houston will just reap in more landing fees and incoming business. No brainer guys.

 

[waveflyer]

According to Forbes article LUV wants a $100 mil hand out from Houston for this 'set free competition' project. Sorry folks that is BS. LUV needs to pay to build the facility and staff it. Otherwise go to IAH.

I did a quick search and did not find the article. Got a link?

 

[nimtz]

It will not cost the city a dime!

Feel free to refute the writer.
"It has brazenly asked Houston’s airport authority to pay nearly $100 million to upgrade Hobby to receive international flights."
Poor LUV. It's tough to be the little guy fighting big bullies.

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/17/united-southwest-houston/?source=yahoo_quote

 

[madjack]

From the article: "The upgrade would allow Southwest to use Hobby to launch truly competitive international air service to the same locations where Continental has held an almost near-monopoly in non-stop service for years. This would, invariably, force Continental to lower prices on competing routes or to even pull out of some them completely if Southwest is able to put enough pressure on its margins."


I would be very worried if I was at UCAL

 

[Furloughed80]

I would be very worried if I was at UCAL

Why? What is going to happen?

 

[redflyer65]

Immediate lose of 10,000 jobs if you believe them.

 

[Flopgut]

Sugar coat the facts??? We all are still waiting for this agreement you spoke of you know...the one were you said all international flying was to be done out of iah. Sugar coating flop your just plain out lying.

Show us this bs agreement. That's right you can't

Says right in the article, it was a gentlemen's agreement... Yeah, sure, not an air tight deal. But a lot of things in this country have been done on a handshake. It wasn't until the first snake-oil type discounter came along that those deals fell apart. Btw: I defy you to find a better partner to a municipality that SWA has ever been than CAL was to Houston. Even in Dallas, you've not done as much. You're like Walmart. You make more things suck than you make good.

I'm interested in the city council meeting on the 8th. We may learn there was a more substantial agreement than has been revealed so far. Everything that is out there right now was either done by, or for SWA. The UCAL side has not been heard.

 

[redflyer65]

Looking at the comments under the articles, there will be plenty of regular people from Houston there to pull for SW. It appears UCAL has pissed off alot of Houstonians for many years. Yea, I'd say you've "done something for them!"

 

[Flopgut]

Feel free to refute the writer.
"It has brazenly asked Houston’s airport authority to pay nearly $100 million to upgrade Hobby to receive international flights."
Poor LUV. It's tough to be the little guy fighting big bullies.

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/17/united-southwest-houston/?source=yahoo_quote

Man that is one hell of an interesting article. Why did we not call it Continental and stay in Houston?! The sum total of what United brought to this merger is not worth what we might stand to lose...

 

[Flopgut]

deleted....

 

[humveedriver]

I hope this bites United in the ass. After no luck with Midway gates and no luck with Midwest. AirTran said screw and went into MKE on their own. The city was glad to have us. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all to see SAT become the next international gateway to L. America from TX. It would be a great pilot base for SWA too.

 

[IAHERJ]

This is what gets me. "Free Hobby". Now let's take a look at the timeline here. After 9/11, SWA expanded at a rapid pace taking advantage of the plights AA/UAL/CAL/DAL/NWA/US/MEH/ATA all had. Employees were giddy with the rapid expansion that came at the expense of employees the airlines mentioned above. SWA was profitable and bragged about their lower cost structure and single fleet airline serving cities in the lower 48 only at non congested airports. Fast forward to 2010/2011. SWA demands slots at DCA/LGA/EWR. They want to fly into SFO and BOS and now they want to fly internationally from Hobby Field as of when, February? To have a campaign to "FREE HOBBY" is a little much. What are we freeing Hobby from? No airline has requested customs support to fly from Hobby abroad since IAH opened in the early 1970's. It was agreed that IAH would be the international airport and every carrier agreed to this 40 years ago. Now SWA wants to fly internationally as it sees a bleak future without a business plan change and voila, we need to "FREE HOBBY". We do not need to free Hobby. The Joe the Plumbers who have been duped into believing that SWA has the lowest fares(another SWA marketing stroke of genius) of course are going to blog away on the Houston Chronicle website as they are all sharing a brain kept at Hooters during the weekdays and the nearest drag strip on the weekends.

We live in a free market so SWA has every right to ask for support for an international terminal etc. but to decide to fly internationally and make the request a month prior to a marketing campaign to "FREE HOBBY" is a bit dramatic.

My 2 cents

 

[redflyer65]

Just like UCAL's defense is beyond dramatic. An immmediate loss of 10,000 jobs. The horror!!

Give me a break. It's business. All the expansion you talk about from the other carriers? Guess what, that's business too. If it doesn't go through, you know both Austin and San Antonio will blow up with international flights....and we'll feed them from Houston and Dallas.

 

[IAHERJ]

Just like UCAL's defense is beyond dramatic. An immmediate loss of 10,000 jobs. The horror!!

Give me a break. It's business. All the expansion you talk about from the other carriers? Guess what, that's business too. If it doesn't go through, you know both Austin and San Antonio will blow up with international flights....and we'll feed them from Houston and Dallas.

Yes, because "International" is the new game for SWA. All the bump your stock got in the mid 2000's as "Southwest, the domestic carrier has no exposure to the drop off in international air travel due to SARS/Iraq war/Japan nuclear accident etc.". "Southwest, which has not interest in serving the congested airports in the Northeast". I could go on but you get the picture. We have absolutely got to "FREE HOBBY" right now! Sounds like the Tea Party folks who all have little copies of The Constitution that all of a sudden needs to be to be adhered to fundamentally.

 

[PCL_128]

IAHERJ, I get your point. Yes, it is a little overdramatic to say "free Hobby," but this is politics and PR, so dramatics sometimes serve a purpose. Just like the absolutely asinine assertions that your company is making about how many UAL jobs would be lost, and how many flights UAL would have to stop running in IAH. We all know that that is a bunch of BS. But I don't begrudge them for it, because they're just playing the game.

What this really comes down to is capitalism. Either you believe in an unfettered free market, or you don't. Artificial restrictions like trying to force a carrier to operate out of one airport instead of another is not a free market.