WorldTraveler said:
please let me know when WN has closed multiple stations at the same time before the FL merger. Apparently I missed it.
You see WT this is exactly why you have so many confrontations from so many different people. When your confronted about an issue you raise you simply post back throwing a one word change or difference which changes the entire final content of what you posted--- Just throwing that out there...
SWA has done numerous stations at the same time, however, in the past, you would usually see increased announcements where they will be adding service to. Now let's see, everyone put there little thinking caps on; SWA cannot get enough airplanes from Boeing, and or the used market for what is about to come to light 2014-2016. With SWA winning the bid (or as you want to look at it, nego behind closed doors with the DOJ and AA/US) and apparently doing a fine job of it, getting 22 of the 34 slots being divested by AA. W/A goes by-by Oct 14, international flts start in 14, more international flts will start in 2015 from Houston. 100% synergies will be coming in from the AT purchases. Simply put SWA needs A/C and fast. Pretty sure SWA will get some of the other slots soon to be divested and awarded by DOJ. And now it looks like SWA wants even more gates at DAL, here's the article for your pleasure reading:--
Southwest Airlines wants American Airlines’ two gates at Love Field
WASHINGTON — To keep its merger with US Airways alive, American Airlines has to give up its lonely gates at Dallas Love Field, gates that it leases from the city of Dallas but doesn’t currently use.
Southwest, already the dominant carrier operating out of Love Field, has an idea of which airline would be the best one to take over those two gates — itself.
“What I am saying is that Southwest will be able to do more with those two gates than another airline (new to the airport) would be able to,” said Ron Ricks, executive vice president and chief legal officer.
He said airlines typically run about six flights a day out of a single gate, though that varies from airport to airport, he said. That means that whichever carrier gets access to the gates will be able to add about 12 — maybe 14 or 16 — new daily flights, he said.
Southwest, he said, would be able to beat the average and operate 16 or more flights, since it already has so many flights coming in and out of the airport.
that means that if the government wants to introduce meaningful competition to the new American, which will be the largest airline in the world after the merger, the choice for the new gates ought to be Southwest.
“The biggest competitive impact would be seen if Southwest is allowed to operate out of those gates,” he said. “Another airline (new to Love Field) would come in and add a few flights — that would be, economically, just a drop in the bucket.”
Of course, other airlines have made other arguments. Delta, which currently subleases the two gates from Southwest, has said it would like to take over the lease on a permanent basis.
The requirement that the new airline give up two gates at a handful of the nation’s top airports is designed to introduce more competition for the new American, which will be the largest airline in the world.
Ricks argued that An airline that puts new service in at Dallas Love at just one or two new gates would have a hard time creating significant economic pressure on American, something that a stronger Southwest would be able to do.
That’s largely the argument US Airways and American used in pushing the DOJ to approve the merger, that only by creating a stronger, more profitable new American could there be real pressure to bear on industry leaders Delta and United.
Still, it’s far from clear whether given Southwest an even more dominant position at Dallas Love Field would drive prices down on flights by American, something that antitrust experts say is needed now that so many of the major airlines have already consolidated.
And even just 12 more flights from a new carrier at Love could exert significant competitive prices on a handful of particular routes, especially if they were on routes that are currently only or mostly served by American or Southwest.
How the Justice Department will look at the issue isn’t yet clear. But Ricks said there’s another argument — a “more parochial” one that isn’t likely to mean much to the DOJ. Southwest is one of the top employers and top taxpayers in the city of Dallas, which owns the airport. A stronger Southwest will mean more in the long run than adding another carrier to the airport.
“A stronger Southwest will mean a lot more to the city of Dallas, in terms of jobs and paying taxes here, than a new airline that just comes in and adds a few flights and pays a little bit of rent,” he said.
