It's all in the Delivery

[coolflyingfool]

Something must be in the wings. You cannot make a reservation past June 9. That is just about 100 days away and I can see some people, like myself, getting antsy for the reservations for the summer vacations. just my thoughts.........

 

[Tanker]

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From a February Th interview with Gary Kelly in the Arizona Republic:

Q: Any additional new cities on tap for this year?


I think if we have another one, it will be in the fall.

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Even Gary states there is a possibility of 1 more city this year. What was quoted from the training center is that there are 4 cities that are the top choices, not that there will be 4 more cities. As for LGA Gary Kelly was asked about that in a magazine article a few months ago and he said that LGA is being seriously looked at.

 

[corl737]

Even Gary states there is a possibility of 1 more city this year. What was quoted from the training center is that there are 4 cities that are the top choices, not that there will be 4 more cities. As for LGA Gary Kelly was asked about that in a magazine article a few months ago and he said that LGA is being seriously looked at.

I have no doubt that SWA is looking at LGA just as they look seriously at every potential site. The mantra isn't just where can SWA do well, it's "where can SWA do BEST"!

 

[ClueByFour]

If WN enters LGA, I will truly believe that GK is on drugs.

Even PHL, with some creative runway and tower enroute requests, can be made to work. LGA strikes me as suicide from a delay standpoint.

 

[wnbubbleboy]

If WN enters LGA, I will truly believe that GK is on drugs.

Even PHL, with some creative runway and tower enroute requests, can be made to work. LGA strikes me as suicide from a delay standpoint.

.....PSST.....It's CLT.

 

[BoeingBoy]

.....PSST.....It's CLT.

BTS finally came out with the 2Q05 Air Fare Report, and CLT had the second highest fare premium in the country (EWR was 1st). And that was when both IndyAir and ATA were offering service, if I recall correctly (someone will surely correct me if that's wrong).

Presumably, if WN can get 2-4 full-time gates, CLT is at or near the top of the list of prospective new cities.

Jim

 

[wnbubbleboy]

This year, as in most years, bargain-hungry flyers, airports and competing airlines will expend vast amounts of energy trying to guess where Southwest will go next, but Kelly gives few hints. He says that “Denver may be the only new city for us this yearâ€￾, but hints that Southwest may pick up slack left by ATA Airlines, the bankrupt carrier in which it invested and with which it began a codeshare in late 2004. Southwest announced its Denver plans as ATA announced it was pulling out of the Colorado city, and Kelly notes that Southwest has lost ATA feed from Minneapolis/St Paul and other points. Observers, including Chase at Lehman Brothers, believe Southwest will strengthen East Coast service at points such as Baltimore/Washington International, where, Kelly concedes, the carrier’s yields have been under pressure. Charlotte, a US Airways stronghold, is also high on his list.

http://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2006/...+offensive.html

 

[Borescope]

I have no doubt that SWA is looking at LGA just as they look seriously at every potential site. The mantra isn't just where can SWA do well, it's "where can SWA do BEST"!
[/quote


Stay away from LGA if you want to stick to your mantra.

 

[ngneer]

An article I read a few months ago quoted Gary Kelly as saying that they were looking at LGA but that it was more of an academic exercise since, currently, there was no room for them anyway. SWA has 4 more gates at ISP that, I believe, will be opening up this spring and will be able to use rent-free. While NYC is a hole in the SWA route system, I think they'll continue to try to serve the area from ISP for the forseeable future.

My guess for the next city is CLT, provided, as BoeingBoy says, gates are availble. I also wonder about MSP given NW's weakened position.

 

[corl737]

SWA has 4 more gates at ISP that, I believe, will be opening up this spring and will be able to use rent-free.

If I recall correctly, SWA paid for the construction of the new terminal concourse at ISP and use of those gates was part of the deal. After a period of time, the entire building reverts to city ownership. "Rent Free" just means that they're not writing checks to the city every month -- they've definitely paid for the gates!

 

[ngneer]

If I recall correctly, SWA paid for the construction of the new terminal concourse at ISP and use of those gates was part of the deal. After a period of time, the entire building reverts to city ownership. "Rent Free" just means that they're not writing checks to the city every month -- they've definitely paid for the gates!

You are correct. I read that SWA paid $71 million to build the new concourse. I'm not sure if that was just for the first phase or for the whole ball of wax. Anyway, according to SWA's 2004 Annual Report, when all phases of construction are complete the new concourse becomes the property of the Town of Islip and SWA gets to use it rent-free for the next 25 years.

As a result, I expect SWA to continue to use ISP as their gateway to the NYC area for some time. But you never know, Gary Kelly is full of surprises.