BNA rumors
 

The rumors are buzzing again. Will it finally come to be? Are we on the verge of a Nashville crew base announcement at the spirit party this week?

It would be a good recruiting tool. And a senior base.

If it’s a senior base, then it likely won’t be a good recruiting tool. When’s Hawaii opening up? Can it compete with our 6 month upgrade?

Every airline in this country has always had a BNA pipe dream. I would say 63% chance not happening, but 82% chance for FA mini-domicile. Or something.

I think they will announce a BNA base at the rally there. Last spring in the LAS lounge the network planning guy said when Nashville expands we will consider it. Well look what happened in June https://www.airport-technology.com/n...xpansion-plan/ .

SWA likes to dominate a market and I think they would be all in and would want to be the first to secure gates. With that island RJ terminal going up, SWA needs to make a move.

Just an observation.

The expansion isn't supposed to be done until 2028. Why would they open it as a crew base with the required infrastructure when it's under construction for the next 5+ years? Not gonna happen.

I’m betting they announce it this week. BNA was our 8th busiest airport in July. My pairing this week has me bouncing in and out of bna 2 of 3 days. From hotel cost savings to staffing a base to cover schedule disruptions it makes sense.

https://simpleflying.com/southwest-a...rts-july-2022/

I put it at about 75/25 odds against.

Pros:
Hotel costs
Low "opening costs" since a lot of crew already live there and moves won't have to be paid for

Cons:
Proximity to ATL
Using the number of 4 day trips as the indicator for a need for a new crew base, we are not even close. 4 day trips are a small part of the pairing mix.

As far as what someone said about SWA needing to dominate the market, have you been to BNA lately? It is a SWA dominated market and will continue to be. They own the D concourse and the vast majority of the C, and those gates are utilized to the max. They run a great mix of a STL style hub and spoke with a solid amount of O/E and tourist stuff. After SAN, it is the biggest non crew base station by departures and is bigger than ATL and has been for some time.

The last time there was a rally in BNA, everyone thought there was going to be an announcement and there wasn't. I think this will be the same thing, but I have been wrong before.

I could be proven wrong (again), but I wouldn't hold your breath for a new base announcement. They NEVER seem to occur at big corporate events. Fact is, while hugely important to us line swine, to the GO-types a new crew base is right down there with new in-flight beverage options or a new layover hotel: just a pragmatic, necessary change to make the operation more efficient/profitable. LAS is a perfect example. It was on a short-list of new bases and a Spirit Party was scheduled. Speculation was running rampant and the event goes off with no announcement. Although curiously, a LAS base was eventually announced with little fanfare a couple of months later.

Spirit Parties are for the GO, not us. Only reason to go is to hold up a sign. :cool:

Good points RJ. For a west coast guy I get through there often. We have a huge presence there. Is SWA paying a portion of the expansion? Article didn’t say. Gates are prime real estate and long term rent/lease can be negotiated favorably if an airline chips in for the expansion cost.

BNA as a recruiting tool? Maybe. 2000 hires next year is insane. That’s roughly 190 people per base.

I get the feeling SWA wants to announce something. It’s been 5 yrs since Hawaii was announced.