wnbubbleboy
Veteran
Here's an insightful interveiw with Gary Kelly by the WSJ.
Heres One question they ask:
WSJ: What's the prospect for Southwest going international?
Mr. Kelly: I suspect we will fly international at some point. Our first step will likely be an international code share (an agreement that allows two airlines to expand their route networks by selling certain of each other's flights as if they were their own). Our hands are full with expanding our U.S. route network, though. Our focus is domestic, and we don't want to be distracted from that.
Here's another:
WSJ: So where next?
Mr. Kelly: Right now we have half a dozen cities high on the list. There's only one we've said publicly that I will repeat: Charlotte (N.C.). And obviously Charlotte isn't rising to the top of the list yet. It was beat by (the most recent expansion cities) Fort Myers (Fla.) and Denver. I don't know whether we'll have another new city next year. A lot of our decision will depend on how fast Denver develops, but also what else happens. So if there is a dramatic change in Big City A, maybe that's an opportunity for us.
WSJ: What about New York? Some speculation has put Southwest in LaGuardia Airport at some point.
Mr. Kelly: The only thing we've said about LaGuardia is we want to stay on top of the changes in (traffic and airline restrictions) there, and next year is a big year for that. It's a high-cost airport, so there are lots of issues for Southwest. Could we make it work? I don't know. Maybe. But we won't disclose what we have in mind.
It is true it's the largest market in the world, and obviously in the U.S., so it's something that you just can't ignore. And it's somewhere our customers want to go. But LaGuardia or New York would have to pass the threshold test, which is: Is it a place where we can be successful financially? And I haven't given you an answer on that.
Here's the link to read on:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05353/624857.stm
Heres One question they ask:
WSJ: What's the prospect for Southwest going international?
Mr. Kelly: I suspect we will fly international at some point. Our first step will likely be an international code share (an agreement that allows two airlines to expand their route networks by selling certain of each other's flights as if they were their own). Our hands are full with expanding our U.S. route network, though. Our focus is domestic, and we don't want to be distracted from that.
Here's another:
WSJ: So where next?
Mr. Kelly: Right now we have half a dozen cities high on the list. There's only one we've said publicly that I will repeat: Charlotte (N.C.). And obviously Charlotte isn't rising to the top of the list yet. It was beat by (the most recent expansion cities) Fort Myers (Fla.) and Denver. I don't know whether we'll have another new city next year. A lot of our decision will depend on how fast Denver develops, but also what else happens. So if there is a dramatic change in Big City A, maybe that's an opportunity for us.
WSJ: What about New York? Some speculation has put Southwest in LaGuardia Airport at some point.
Mr. Kelly: The only thing we've said about LaGuardia is we want to stay on top of the changes in (traffic and airline restrictions) there, and next year is a big year for that. It's a high-cost airport, so there are lots of issues for Southwest. Could we make it work? I don't know. Maybe. But we won't disclose what we have in mind.
It is true it's the largest market in the world, and obviously in the U.S., so it's something that you just can't ignore. And it's somewhere our customers want to go. But LaGuardia or New York would have to pass the threshold test, which is: Is it a place where we can be successful financially? And I haven't given you an answer on that.
Here's the link to read on:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05353/624857.stm
