Flight Attendant

[buscador]

Try again. From PlaneBuzz: http://www.planebuzz.com/2009/08/potential_southwest_airlinesfr.html



Helluva business strategy Gary Kelly has there! Make your least profitable city your fastest growing one, and keep adding more and more flights-- what could possibly go wrong?

I hope you are not AT, seeing as you have nothing good to say about SWA,, but if you are,, w your incredibly positive attitude... you may want to start looking for another airline to work for,, your attitude may not get you past your 10 day SMT... which would be good for all at the NEW airline

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

I'm not sure Holly's view from over two years ago is really relevant today...

Jim

Has anything significantly changed in the DEN market since she and that analyst gave that opinion?

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

I don't know what metrics these "experts" use to measure the success of DEN as a Southwest city, but I see first hand every single day how critical of a city that DEN is to Southwest's operation system wide. It has essentially become the conduit by which all traffic to the west coast flows.. If you're gauging strictly O&D numbers, perhaps it's a break even or even losing proposition but DEN has become an invaluable dot on Southwest's route map. Do you seriously believe the powers that be at the helm at Southwest are just SO clueless? Maybe it's these outsider "experts" who are the ones lacking knowledge of the grander scheme of things?.. I think the latter scenario is easier to believe. So why would you actually try harder to believe a less likely scenario.. Possibly because a bias is at play..

I don't doubt that your knowledge is correct, but wasn't WN managing to do the same thing five years ago with PHX, LAS, and to a lesser degree, MCI? Why is Denver all of a sudden the west coast xfer point?

 

[num1bearsfan]

I don't doubt that your knowledge is correct, but wasn't WN managing to do the same thing five years ago with PHX, LAS, and to a lesser degree, MCI? Why is Denver all of a sudden the west coast xfer point?

Possibly for no other reason than the fact that it makes more geographical sense for transcons. I fly to PDX regularly from Chicago and I HATE having to take the connection in PHX as it adds to the trip time substantially. DEN is a breeze. I don't mind making the connection in MCI either though..

 

[BoeingBoy]

Has anything significantly changed in the DEN market since she and that analyst gave that opinion?

Frontier has been through bankruptcy and is now a drain on another "RJ operator tries the big time" experiment that appears to be failing. United is merging with CO. WN has pushed F9 down to 3rd in DEN, while taking 2nd place. Significant enough?

Jim

 

[swamt]

Frontier has been through bankruptcy and is now a drain on another "RJ operator tries the big time" experiment that appears to be failing. United is merging with CO. WN has pushed F9 down to 3rd in DEN, while taking 2nd place. Significant enough?

Jim

This is for buscador also. I have stopped replying to this individual. Although it now appears he has settled down a little, he does continue to post like he knows everything about SWA and is continuiously proven wrong. It really sounds like he has a grudge against SWA and/or its employees. Just an observation.

 

[buscador]

This is for buscador also. I have stopped replying to this individual. Although it now appears he has settled down a little, he does continue to post like he knows everything about SWA and is continuiously proven wrong. It really sounds like he has a grudge against SWA and/or its employees. Just an observation.

duly noted,,thx

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

This is for buscador also. I have stopped replying to this individual. Although it now appears he has settled down a little, he does continue to post like he knows everything about SWA and is continuiously proven wrong. It really sounds like he has a grudge against SWA and/or its employees. Just an observation.

I am now a WN employee just as you are. That makes my opinions every bit as valid as yours, sorry.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Frontier has been through bankruptcy and is now a drain on another "RJ operator tries the big time" experiment that appears to be failing. United is merging with CO. WN has pushed F9 down to 3rd in DEN, while taking 2nd place. Significant enough?

Jim

Jim, do you really thing the yield/rasm in the denver market has appreciated to any degree considering (last time I checked) there were still three major competing airline operations there?

 

[BoeingBoy]

Domestic yield is up in DEN, how much depending on when the comparison is to. But considering the fare increases over the last few years that's the norm. RASM for a specific airport is a lot harder to get out since neither the airlines nor the BTS report it by airport. You have to go to the raw BTS data and dig one airport out of all that data. Using 2nd quarter data (that's the latest available for 2011 as of now) here's the last few years yield for DEN. Note: the BTS data is broken down into categories mandated by the BTS and may not match that derived from normal accounting rules.

2006 17.26 cents
2007 16.09
2008 16.84
2009 14.66
2010 15.96
2011 17.28

As you can see, domestic yield is almost exactly what it was in 2006 but well above what it was in 2009 during the recession. Just for comparison, here are the 2011 yields for various other hub airports (the data is by city so places like NYC and Chicago are for the airports serving those cities).

Atlanta 23.28
Charlotte 24.16
Dallas/Ft Worth 23.47
Chicago 21.54 (ORD + MDW)
Houston 23.50 (IAH + HOU)
Minneapolis 21.20
Philadelphia 19.01
New York 18.80 (JFK + LGA + EWR)
Phoenix 16.42
Baltimore 20.65

Jim

 

[jimntx]

Possibly for no other reason than the fact that it makes more geographical sense for transcons. I fly to PDX regularly from Chicago and I HATE having to take the connection in PHX as it adds to the trip time substantially. DEN is a breeze. I don't mind making the connection in MCI either though..

???? Why connect at all? Multiple airlines have non-stops. When I went to Expedia, the first non-stop that came up was US Airways (operated by United, of course).

 

[buscador]

I am now a WN employee just as you are. That makes my opinions every bit as valid as yours, sorry.

Funny thing is Swamt wasnt even talking about you, and yes I guess you have a right to opine about SWA, the history, the years and even what it is like to be an employee of SWA,, correct if I am wrong..but your id says SWA, oops,, and you have completed your merger training??

Cool, you must be on the fast track program, before the contract is even voted on!! Before you even have an ID and here you are with every right to comment on SWA,, some would say abrasive, but no me,, I say good for you and please tell all of us more of your well thought out opinions and business plans ,,, personally I can not wait to hear more of your eloquent, FAir, level headed assertations about SWA, and its people,,,,YOUR opinions are EVERY bit as Valid as any SWA employee <_<

Gods Gift to Aviation(and you were saying that about Whom??)

 

[num1bearsfan]

???? Why connect at all? Multiple airlines have non-stops. When I went to Expedia, the first non-stop that came up was US Airways (operated by United, of course).

Well I do take the nonstops when I can (Southwest also does nonstop service), but I'm a nonrev traveler and my options are often dictated by what's available. There's like 2 nonstop flights a day, and then like 6 options that utilize a connection and sometimes those flights are actually better based on my needs because of their departure times.. Southwest pretty much satisfies all of my domestic nonreving needs, no need to look at United..

 

[buscador]

Adasp..

I like the place you have found,, called silence,, I dont think you have ever sounded so enlightened as you do now... rumors have it you are taking your act to other forums with all 4 years of your FA experience and knowledge,, just wanted to say thank you for taking it elsewhere

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Yawn.