Perhaps you should take your own advice.
Insp89 is correct in that the advantage may be declining:
SWA fuel hedge:
2005 80% of their supply is hedged at $25/bbl
2006 60% is hedged at $31/bbl
2007 40% is hedged at $30/bbl
While these are certainly still very large advantages, as Insp89 said it is a declining advantage.
As established and "new" LCCs enter the fray in earnest and begin to match SWA prices and service, SWA's historically lowest-in-industry load factor will soon become a large consideration. Whether the fuel hedge is enough to offset the fact that SWA is usually about 5-10 points behind all other carriers in load factor remains to be seen.
There was much hoopla about SWA starting service at PIT. My question is: How has the new PIT service affected loads out of CLE? All those PIT folks who would drive to CLE to avoid USAirways high prices now have the convenience of flights from their home town airport. But now those seats out of CLE go empty. Maybe SWA is reaching the point in their service that has plagued USAirways for so long. SWA may now be beginning to compete with themselves. This will only exacerbate the anemic load factors.
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