one2one
How do you see the AirTran acquisition fi tting into your existing network and what types of synergies will you be leveraging? Southwest and AirTran are an excellent fi t. Both companies are low-cost, low-fare carriers with an emphasis on outstanding customer service. The two carriers’ route systems are complementary. The acquisition offers customers more low-fare destinations as we diversify and extend our network into new markets. This includes signifi cant opportunities to and from Atlanta, the busiest airport in the US and the largest domestic market that we do not serve. The acquisition also allows us to expand our presence in key markets, like New York LaGuardia, Boston Logan and Baltimore/ Washington, and enables us to serve Washington DC via Ronald Reagan National Airport. Based on current operations, with the addition of AirTran, Southwest’s share of current domestic capacity – measured by available seat miles (ASMs) – would increase from approximately 15% to 19%. This compares with domestic ASM shares of about 21% each for both Continental/United and Delta/Northwest.
How will AirTran’s B717s fi t into your B737 fl eet? With a fl eet of 86 Boeing 717s, the fl eet is large enough to schedule effi ciently. We are excited about the possibilities of scheduling
How many years did it take to secure a cross-border agreement with Volaris? We had a lot of work to do on many different fronts, from conception to implementation. It is safe to say that it took us more than two years in total.
How have customers responded to the Volaris partnership? Obviously it will take some time to market the partnership and ramp up, but so far we are pleased with the amount of interest and enthusiasm from our customers.
Is Canada still on your radar? We remain interested in serving Canada one day, whether with our own planes or through a partnership.
Name: John Jamotta Company: Southwest Airlines
Designation: Vice president of network planning
Home town: New York, currently lives in Dallas
a slightly smaller gauge aircraft. We believe the B717 will allow us to match seasonal demand effi ciently without necessarily changing frequency in a market. In addition, the B717 will allow us to consider markets and cities that have historically been considered too small for Southwest service.
How has the Southwest network changed during the recession? We haven’t grown our overall capacity over the past couple years, but what we have done is optimise our network to eliminate unproductive fl ying and reallocate the aircraft to some new markets, as well as existing markets where we have high demand. In the past two years we have started service to fi ve new airports, including LaGuardia, Boston Logan, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St Paul and Panama City Beach. We’ve achieved this without eliminating any airports and without growing our overall capacity. We’ve been very smart about how we’ve allocated our aircraft to match supply with demand.
14
www.routes-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56