Trouble Brewing At SW?

[usa1]

Kelly called the one-month swing “somewhat of a mystery.”

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/southwest-airlines-ceo-plans-to-seek-new-revenue-drivers-and-cut-costs-given-economic-concerns-and-rising-fuel-prices.html/

 

[jimntx]

Trouble brewing? I doubt it. However...

How can Kelly call himself an airline CEO? He didn't even mention cutting employee pay and benefits as a way of fixing this temporary problem. Everyone knows that a good airline CEO would go there first. "It can't be a hike in fuel prices. We must be paying the employees too much."

 

[usa1]

I will laugh my butt off when he pull the "bags fly free" commercials.

 

[jimntx]

And, why would that be? Just because the bag fees at LCC make the difference between a profit and a loss some months, you feel that everyone should charge for bags? What do you plan to do if he doesn't pull the commercials?

 

[Swadl]

They need to cut back with upper mgt. we are way to top heavy.

 

[swamt]

They need to cut back with upper mgt. we are way to top heavy.

I agree100%

 

[jimntx]

Well, if it's any consolation to you, Southwest management are amateurs at top-loading the management ranks compared to other airlines--like mine (AA). They finally did away with this situation, but for the longest time at DFW in every terminal we had an Operations Manager who reported to a Manager of Operations for that terminal. I could never find anyone in management who could explain the difference in those jobs, or why there were two needed in every terminal. If there was one Manager of Operations for the airport complex with an Operations Manager for each terminal, I might have understood.

The bankruptcy has forced them to rationalize the management ranks to some extent, but for the most part it is the first-line supervisors in Flight Service (Flight Service Managers) who have had the most work dumped on them by reductions in their ranks. And, they were the ones who were the most overworked BEFORE the job cuts started. I guess it's a good thing that most flight attendants self-manage their time, attendance, and performance.

 

[usa1]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/us-airways-president-notes-change-in-rival-southwest-airlines-pricing-strategy.html/

 

[WorldTraveler]

just says they are pushing the limits of their fare increases which are stifling demand, exactly what fare increases do. Ability to increase fares is directly tied to capacity in the market which is why WN continues to make changes to its network based on its ability to get the level of fares necessary to be profitable.

There is nothing indicative of problems with what WN is seeing or doing.