Southwest Airline and Boeing 737?

bc2209

bc2209

Well-Known Member
Why is it that SW has a fleet of only 737's (AirTran aside)? I can only presume they will continue to fly 737's.

Is it because they fly domestically (give or take with the Caribbean and Mexico routes with the acquisition of AirTran)?

Did they get a good deal on purchasing or leasing the airplanes from yesteryear kind of thing?

Always been a question to me.
 
Nope that explains it to me for sure.

I just wonder why everyone else similar (Allegiant, JetBlue) have a fleet of different aircraft. I almost said Spirit but I believe Spirit have all the same airplanes as well.

I don't mean to say that Allegiant of JetBlue are on par with SW these days but just a comparison I guess.

Thanks MikeD.
 
MikeD said:
Fleet commonality for maintenance/logistics, thus cost.

Or are you asking why as opposed to a fleet of A320s, for example?
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One more thing for you though. I've been tinkering at the thought of flying into Pinal Air Park. You did say general aviation can land there right?

Any special requests have to be made before landing?
 
MikeD said:
Fleet commonality for maintenance/logistics, thus cost.

Or are you asking why as opposed to a fleet of A320s, for example?
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Also probably because it is cheaper for training (you don't have to send pilots for a new type training since they aren't changing equipment), more efficient (since you don't have to maintain separate groups of pilots for each type), and cheaper to schedule (any flight can go to any gate, etc, etc...)
 
bc2209 said:
I just wonder why everyone else similar (Allegiant, JetBlue) have a fleet of different aircraft. I almost said Spirit but I believe Spirit have all the same airplanes as well.
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Because MBA's like to have metrics to calculate bonuses. The metrics they are judged on in the air line world are "revenue per seat mile***," "load factor," and "utilization." (***this is the most widely watched one)

Those numbers all look "better" on paper when you have flights that are full, or nearly so. (The average ticket price is higher for a full flight, revenue per seat is higher for a full flight, load factor is better, and utilization - well, is really dependent on type only). So they like to cherry pick certain airplanes to certain routes and times and days that maximize revenue per seat mile, no matter what it actually costs them. Keep in mind, you can still be losing tons of money while these metrics are otherwise good.
 
They have orders/options for over 150 737-MAX aircraft right now - to be released to customers in 2017 I think.
 
bc2209 said:
One more thing for you though. I've been tinkering at the thought of flying into Pinal Air Park. You did say general aviation can land there right?

Any special requests have to be made before landing?
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I've been to Pinal several times. No prior requests needed. It's just like flying in to any other airport.
Now taxiing around certain parts of the airport might raise a few eyebrows.
 
bc2209 said:
One more thing for you though. I've been tinkering at the thought of flying into Pinal Air Park. You did say general aviation can land there right?

Any special requests have to be made before landing?
Click to expand...

As mentioned by Cirrus, no special requests necessary. Wouldn't hurt to call ahead if you want fuel, insofar as where to taxi to. Keep all patterns to the east, and refrain from taxiing off to the boneyard west of the runway, the heliport north of the runway, or the north 3/4 of the main ramp.
 
I get Allegiants idea but I dont get why they ever brought in a POS fleet of 757s to run Hawaii a few days a week. From what I hear, those birds spend more time on the ground then they do over the Pacific and the pilots hate em.
 
bc2209 said:
Why is it that SW has a fleet of only 737's (AirTran aside)? I can only presume they will continue to fly 737's.

Is it because they fly domestically (give or take with the Caribbean and Mexico routes with the acquisition of AirTran)?

Did they get a good deal on purchasing or leasing the airplanes from yesteryear kind of thing?

Always been a question to me.
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Because Boeing makes the best commercial airliners. Well, that, and given that SW has only two thrust settings (idle and full), they've been finding they need the 37's short field capabilities. ;) Plus, it's hard for Texans to master more than one kind of airplane. Oh.
 
BobDDuck said:
I believe they are leased to Delta, not sold.

/a.net
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Leased from Boeing. SWA wanted to unload them on Boeing, but Southernjets came along and got the best of both worlds. SWA is paying to re-paint and install interiors and Boeing is giving really good lease rates (part of the 787 delays compensation).
 
Crop Duster said:
Because Boeing makes the best commercial airliners. Well, that, and given that SW has only two thrust settings (idle and full), they've been finding they need the 37's short field capabilities. ;) Plus, it's hard for Texans to master more than one kind of airplane. Oh.
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Oh, burn! Did ya have to go there! Lol
 
Everyone's favorite CEO from the 70s....

AV-8.jpg
 
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