Airline one2one
is our people – we have the best employees in the industry, in my opinion.
The [AirTran] 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.
Which of your airports are showing the fastest growth? Far and away, Denver has been the fastest growing city in our history, and this has been especially true over the past two years. We’ve also been able to expand signifi cantly in St Louis and Boston.
You are increasingly serving larger airports – does this signal a change of strategy for Southwest? We’ve served large airports for many years, and these cities do not signal a major shift in strategy. As we have grown, the number of places left to expand reduces. We see a lot of potential
for demand for Southwest service in some of these larger markets, and we’ve been able to meet that demand by bringing these airports into our network.
What is the biggest issue facing air service development in the US today?
Concern over fuel costs continues to be a major issue that we will contend with and is certainly high on our radar.
How has Southwest managed to remain the leading carrier in the US over so many decades? We’ve been bold and aggressive while remaining fi nancially sound. However, the secret to our success
What is the best thing about working at Southwest?
I think it is that, within the company, there is freedom to be yourself.
What was your fi rst role at Southwest and how did you land the job?
I was a schedule planner – my dad knew Southwest’s vice president of schedule planning, so I cold-called him one afternoon and said I was looking for a new challenge and he offered me a job.
What is your ‘little known’ fact? I write poetry.
What did you want to be when you were a child? A basketball player.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received? Work harder than everyone else.
What is your top holiday destination and why?
Rome – my family came to the US from Italy in 1902.
RN
GET INVOLVED! Do you want the global route development community to hear what you have to say? Let us know at:
lucy.siebert@
routes-news.com.
www.routesonline.com
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