WOW just WOW

 

Southwest Airlines and Amadeus IT Group Sign Contract to Support the Carrier's Plan to Implement International Service
DALLAS, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --*Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and Amadeus IT Group announced today that they have entered into a joint contract for Amadeus' Altea reservations solution that would support the carrier's international service. *Now that the contract is finalized, the two companies will work closely together to implement Amadeus' technology to allow Southwest to operate international flights in 2014.

AirTran Airways, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines, currently serves international destinations.* As the AirTran international flights transition to Southwest, Amadeus will support Southwest's international flying.*

While the Amadeus IT Group agreement focuses on the international element of Southwest's reservation system, the contract also provides the option for Southwest to convert its domestic business to Amadeus in the future.*

"We could not be more impressed with the experience and knowledge Amadeus IT Group brings to the table," said Southwest Airlines Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Kelly. "They are a premier technology provider, and we are confident in their ability to meet and exceed our needs as we prepare for the exciting opportunity to extend the Southwest brand into the international marketplace."


File Gary's previous comments on the res system in the spin basket.

 

Generally, I'm not one to jump in on the SW bashing except in fun, but this particular move strikes me as another unforseen reactive (as opposed to proactive) wrinkle in the SWA/AT merger saga.

 

I was just pointing out how a CEO might have to do some tap dancing and talk in nebulous terms one week in the press while he has people behind the scenes haggling over final contract language on the next big thing coming out in this week's papers.

 

Are you being serious? Do you genuinely believe SWA is just now realizing that their reservation system was not equipped to handle international destinations? Did it ever occur to you that the plan all along may have been to continue and greatly expand the AirTran international presence while developing the needed IT structure to transfer all flying to the Southwest side in 2015 when the operation will be fully merged? AT is a wholly owned subsidiary with SWA execs at the helm, all profits earned there still belong to SWA, you understand that right? It's not like they are building up a competitor which they will then need to devise a way to poach that market share in the future. If you truly believe that a management team that has been praised for decades as a forward thinking and innovative problem solving unit was blindsided by this very obvious shortcoming in their reservation capability you are fooling yourself. Internal memos have said all along that they are involved in an exhaustive search for the very best product available to carry the company forward. Kelly purposefully obfuscates the true reality until he is ready to announce plans when finalized, just like virtually every other company in business today.

 

No, it never did.

Have another sip of the koolaid. I don't want your head to explode.

 

The only chink in the armor with that forward looking and well thought out plan is that apparently they won't be able to put a SW pax on an Airtran international flight until 2015? Or an Airtran domestic flight?

 

They are already ALL Southwest passengers. AirTran is a wholly owned subsidiary. What part are you folks not seeing?

 

If we look at all the airline mergers that have happened in the last decade, I would argue that none of them have gone "as planned".

When comparing the other relevant data points, I think that the SWA/AT merger is moving along at an above average pace.

 

People are seeing it very clearly. You, apparently, do not. They're not arguing about who gets the money (it all goes to SWA). It's the fact that instead of an integrated network and reservation system that allows a passenger to fly one leg on SW and another on AT, you will still be operating as two separate (and, in a way, competing) airlines. No exactly what a merger (or acquisition) is supposed to provide.

Ie, a passenger wants to go from A to B. There are no direct flights. AT flies from A to C and SW flies from C to B. They won't be able to book it, so they'll go to DL/UA/AA/US. That's lost revenue for you.

Are you seeing it now?