Why the DC-9 is staying:
From
Boeing's 10-K filing
On May 2, 2011, Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest) completed its acquisition of AirTran Holdings, Inc., and AirTran Holdings, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest. As disclosed in Item 8. Financial Statements, Note 15 – Concentrations, AirTran Holdings, LLC (AirTran), the successor to AirTran Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, is our largest customer in terms of revenue and portfolio carrying value. In the fourth quarter of 2011 we revised the contractual terms of our leases with AirTran in conjunction with a full guarantee from Southwest of those lease payment obligations. Revenue and earnings are expected to be approximately $30 million lower in 2012 due to these lease revisions.
That represent a nearly 10% reduction in annual aircraft lease payments for the combined Souhtwest/Airtran fleet.
With the reduced lease rates the 717 got another stay of execution at WN...
Cheers
George