SWA purchasing slots at LGA

Nick

Well-Known Member
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon.../stories/111908dnbussouthwestata.3129e9f.html


Southwest to buy ATA assets, get New York LaGuardia slots
07:26 PM CST on Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bloomberg News
Southwest Airlines Co. has agreed to purchase assets of bankrupt ATA Airlines Inc. for $7.5 million to acquire 14 landing slots at New York's LaGuardia airport and enter the nation's biggest aviation market.

Southwest, the largest discount carrier, would buy the slots and ATA's operating certificate, pending U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval, said Bob Montgomery, vice president of properties. A Nov. 21 court hearing on the sale has been set in Indianapolis, where ATA is based.

Serving New York from LaGuardia would put Southwest into the nation's most-congested airport, a break with its practice of shunning crowded facilities. The Dallas-based airline favors secondary airports to cut time between flights, saving money.

"It is a huge step," Montgomery said Tuesday. "It's going into an area we, frankly, didn't think we'd ever be in. We've reached a state of maturity in our system and with the number of aircraft that we have that allows us now to consider something as challenging as LaGuardia."

Southwest would buy a "reorganized" Indianapolis-based ATA, and the purchase wouldn't include aircraft, employees or other facilities, or two slots at Washington's Reagan National airport, Montgomery said.

ATA ceased operations in April after seeking court protection. The Chapter 11 filing came 25 months after the carrier emerged from a previous reorganization.
 
nyc more people more possibilities? dca isnt going anywhere and i dont think swa is going anywhere either int he future they could be flying out of dca just not now. i also agree with the airways watch out.
 
On time performance, watch out. I hate to see SWA joining the conga line at lagarbage. They need to remember that they make money because they're DIFFERENT.
 
On time performance, watch out. I hate to see SWA joining the conga line at lagarbage. They need to remember that they make money because they're DIFFERENT.

the only good thing about lagarbage was the pizza next to ATA's gate. Haha

Only one gate :(
 
On time performance, watch out. I hate to see SWA joining the conga line at lagarbage. They need to remember that they make money because they're DIFFERENT.

I remember them coming into PHL. During the outbound push. "Tower, SWA XXX is ready at B1" PHL TWR: "OK, thanks for telling me. Your number 15 in sequence."

They wondered where the LUV was.

Stick to your cherry pick model boys. Don't fall into the trap.
 
They want LGA but not DCA? Why??? Seriously why??? DCA runs 1000% better.
I think that's because LUV is already operating out of BWI, but has no presence in the NYC area outside of ISP (and that's far!!)

Well well well, they are now encroaching the heavy hitters in the east coast. First PHL and now this.
 
I wouldnt worry too much. I doubt the devoted frequent domestic traveler out of LGA is going to trade in their precious miles to stand cattle call for an SWA flight that has a connection in BNA then one more in DEN before reaching their destination of LAS or LAX. That is if they dont overbook the flight making you sit standby for the next flight 3 hours later. Not that this has ever happened or ever will, Im just sayin. ;)
 
We were SHOCKED when they announced PHL as a station. Pretty much everyone in MCO was saying "WTF are we DOING?" Now LGA? I have to agree, stay different, SWA. It's a business model that has worked for decades, and it ain't broke yet. Don't "fix" it. Now if they wanna buy the slots and then re-sell them to another airline for a higher price, well, that's just a shrewd business deal.
 
Times they are a changin'

I believe this really indicates something at SWA.

They are no longer able to grow using the philosophy they had in the past. Cherry picking routes that make them a profit is no longer possible because there are few routes left.

In order for them to continue growing, they must now compete in locations that the legacies fly to. Not that they hadn't before, since LAX, SEA, MCO, Chicago, and others are filled with non-LCCs. But they are now going into airports that are true horror stories on at least 1-3 afternoons per week.

There aren't really many more people you can find to stimulate the market between some city in the northeast and Florida, are there? After all, I just read Thanksgiving air travel is down 7% from last year. But there are business travelers between cities in the midwest and Asia, for instance, that Southwest cannot make any profit from because those travelers are flying on AA, NW, DL, UA, CO, etc.

Now that the legacies have gotten their act together a bit (the labor side of it sees that as paycuts unfortunately) they are able to compete with SWA and not take such a loss on routes. Fuel is down from where it was a half year ago and SWA hedges are no longer such an incredible advantage. Furthermore those hedges depend on a higher "live" price of oil at the time they burn the fuel than the original purchase price several years back. I'm not sure SWA would even be making a profit the past few years at all if they didn't hedge fuel.

It is a fascinating thing to watch a long-haul flight go from two hours prior to pushback. Just the other day in one airport I had time to kill and I planted myself at the terminal window and just observed. 65 business class passengers -- every seat full. On top of that there were more than 320 in economy. As if this wasn't enough, seventeen LD-1 cargo pallets were loaded into the plane. Seventeen! I have to believe that a flight such as this has the potential to bring in far more revenue in these economic times than a northeast to Florida vacationers flight.
 
They want LGA but not DCA? Why??? Seriously why??? DCA runs 1000% better.

Isn't there some mileage radius from DCA that flights cannot fly beyond (except for the slots that have already been allotted?) or something like that.
 
Isn't there some mileage radius from DCA that flights cannot fly beyond (except for the slots that have already been allotted?) or something like that.

No idea but are they buying new slots or existing slots in LGA? I was thinking they were existing slots. Ie buying ATA's old DCA slots (if there are any? Didn't they fly there? Maybe not).
 
DCA flights are restricted to 1,250 miles or less in distance with 24 slot exceptions. I know Airways does a few to PHX and LAS and AAI goes to SEA. I'd guess F9 to Denver is one as well.

As far as Southwest in LGA? Eh, let 'em shut down on Double Charlie like the rest of us. It hurts their schedule more than anybody else's.
 
DCA flights are restricted to 1,250 miles or less in distance with 24 slot exceptions. I know Airways does a few to PHX and LAS and AAI goes to SEA. I'd guess F9 to Denver is one as well.

As far as Southwest in LGA? Eh, let 'em shut down on Double Charlie like the rest of us. It hurts their schedule more than anybody else's.
amen!
 
I wonder what they'll do when they realize they can't taxi at V1 at LGA.

I mean... really. I'll bet the first time they're 20-something for takeoff one of the pilots has a meltdown. :rolleyes:
 
I mean... really. I'll bet the first time they're 20-something for takeoff one of the pilots has a meltdown. :rolleyes:


Unless they've been through PHL. Then they've already melted down.

Had a new FO that had never been through LGA before a few weeks ago. He looked and said "Hey. I only see about 4 guys for takeoff on 13. We probably don't need to go single engine on the taxi."

My response: "Oh, young padawan. We're still going single engine b/c you can't see the three taxiways stacked 4 deep around the corner yet....."
 
"We can take an intersection takeoff!"

"Aircraft cawling La GWAAAdia towAH, get bent!" :)
 
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