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SWA Turning Up the Heat in Denver

Old 06-29-2007, 06:42 AM
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Default SWA Turning Up the Heat in Denver

FWIW...

Southwest adding 14 flights at DIA
Kelly Yamanouchi
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 06/27/2007 03:20:40 PM MDT


Southwest Airlines' aircraft sit at the terminal at Love Field in Dallas in this file photo. Southwest Airlines said today that it will add 14 more flights out of Denver International Airport. (AP | Matt Slocum)Southwest Airlines is continuing to grow in Denver, announcing today that it is adding 14 flights out of Denver International Airport.

With the additional flights, Southwest will start flying from Denver to Seattle; Albuquerque; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City; and Austin, Texas.

That will give Southwest a total of 56 daily flights out of Denver to 16 cities.

The move comes as Southwest announced plans to slow its growth nationally, increasing its fleet by 19 aircraft in 2008, 15 fewer than originally planned. The carrier also announced that it is cutting 39 existing flights in other parts of the country, including some transcontinental routes, while adding 46 new flights in "key growth market cities, such as Denver and New Orleans."

The flight cuts do not include Denver.

Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly said during a conference call that revenues in Denver are "strong" but that the company does not comment on profits for individual locations.

"We're actually doing very well in Denver and very excited about the opportunities there," Kelly said.

He said Southwest may make further adjustments to its schedule in January, which could create more opportunities.

Earlier this year, Kelly said Denver would eventually become a natural connecting point for Southwest.

"We're going to focus our growth efforts, and one of our focus cities will clearly be Denver," Kelly said today. "We're going to continue to grow there."

Southwest, which has five gates at DIA, on Nov. 4 will start flying four daily nonstops to Seattle; three to Albuquerque; two to Amarillo, Texas; two to Oklahoma City and on to Austin. It is also adding one more flight to its existing Denver-Nashville route and one more on its existing Denver-Salt Lake City route.

Kelly also discussed changes planned for Southwest as part of its transformation, including a new boarding and seating method to be announced in the fourth quarter of this year, changes to its frequent-flier program and fare structure, and an increased focus on business travelers.

Southwest said it is offering a $25 one-way fare sale for the next five days or until those fares are sold for travel Nov. 4 through Nov. 8, with various restrictions and fees.
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Old 06-29-2007, 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by kansas View Post
FWIW...

Southwest adding 14 flights at DIA
Kelly Yamanouchi
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 06/27/2007 03:20:40 PM MDT


Southwest Airlines' aircraft sit at the terminal at Love Field in Dallas in this file photo. Southwest Airlines said today that it will add 14 more flights out of Denver International Airport. (AP | Matt Slocum)Southwest Airlines is continuing to grow in Denver, announcing today that it is adding 14 flights out of Denver International Airport.

With the additional flights, Southwest will start flying from Denver to Seattle; Albuquerque; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City; and Austin, Texas.

That will give Southwest a total of 56 daily flights out of Denver to 16 cities.

The move comes as Southwest announced plans to slow its growth nationally, increasing its fleet by 19 aircraft in 2008, 15 fewer than originally planned. The carrier also announced that it is cutting 39 existing flights in other parts of the country, including some transcontinental routes, while adding 46 new flights in "key growth market cities, such as Denver and New Orleans."

The flight cuts do not include Denver.

Southwest Airlines chief executive Gary Kelly said during a conference call that revenues in Denver are "strong" but that the company does not comment on profits for individual locations.

"We're actually doing very well in Denver and very excited about the opportunities there," Kelly said.

He said Southwest may make further adjustments to its schedule in January, which could create more opportunities.

Earlier this year, Kelly said Denver would eventually become a natural connecting point for Southwest.

"We're going to focus our growth efforts, and one of our focus cities will clearly be Denver," Kelly said today. "We're going to continue to grow there."

Southwest, which has five gates at DIA, on Nov. 4 will start flying four daily nonstops to Seattle; three to Albuquerque; two to Amarillo, Texas; two to Oklahoma City and on to Austin. It is also adding one more flight to its existing Denver-Nashville route and one more on its existing Denver-Salt Lake City route.

Kelly also discussed changes planned for Southwest as part of its transformation, including a new boarding and seating method to be announced in the fourth quarter of this year, changes to its frequent-flier program and fare structure, and an increased focus on business travelers.

Southwest said it is offering a $25 one-way fare sale for the next five days or until those fares are sold for travel Nov. 4 through Nov. 8, with various restrictions and fees.


LOOK OUT UNITED!!! YIKES
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Old 06-29-2007, 09:00 AM
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Look out F9 !! This will probably fuel more JetBlue/F9 merger rumors.
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Old 07-01-2007, 07:28 PM
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Personally, I think United has more to worry about than Frontier. Frontier has built a pretty loyal customer base in DEN.
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Old 07-01-2007, 07:45 PM
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We shall see if they stay, or turn and run like they did out of Stapleton.
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Old 07-01-2007, 08:17 PM
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UAL should be more concerned than Frontier. I agree.

The Frontier fan base is loyal, in addition, the planes are newer, service and price compareable, seats are more comfortable (I think anyway) plus they have T.V.
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Old 07-01-2007, 10:05 PM
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Hard telling who should be the most scared on this one. While SWA seems to have United's number in a lot of ways, United can fall back on other locations, hubs, and international flying if their Denver fortress begins to fall apart. Frontier, on the other hand, has Denver only...and while the customer base is ultra-loyal there, I could see that changing with the advent of cheaper tickets...something SWA is known for, of course.
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Old 07-02-2007, 04:41 AM
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Originally Posted by jsled View Post
We shall see if they stay, or turn and run like they did out of Stapleton.
JSLED,

Your comment is interesting. I guess we should go back and analyze every situation where UAL "ran" from a market (and there are many). Fact is Stapleton presented numerous problems for SWA "way" back in the 80's and I don't wish to list them here but maybe you can research them so you can be informed on the subject. DIA is a different animal (with substantially lower costs than when it initially opened) and you can hope we run away but that isn't backed up by any facts. I guess your next prediction will be that SWA will "run" away from SFO again.
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Old 07-02-2007, 05:47 AM
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The most immediate threat is to F9. Loyal Pax only make up a small percentage. As SWA continues to move into more of F9's routes, they will lower prices that F9 has to match... driving down yields. That means less revenue for an airline already projecting a loss of 10 million this year. SWA can afford to break even for a while at DIA while they make millions elsewhere, DIA is all F9 has. It will be very interesting to watch FRNT stock today. Market Cap at just 200 million, and pressures growing...merger/buyout is certainly possible.

Not really sure how bad this is for UAL. They are more diversified, but I am confident it is not welcome news. Things are only getting tougher for United.
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