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I wish SWA comes back to Newark and adds to the Philly service too!
Community Champion | PHL based | ex-Companion Pass Holder | Southwest Passenger
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With UT and the major growth happening there is a need for a Southwest route. Many (like myself) have moved from California (and other Western states) and frequently return to visit or have travelers visiting in TN.
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I believe that Knoxville is plausible. It has a higher population and passenger volume than many of the recent additions to Southwest's network (Bellingham, Sarasota, Savannah, Eugene, Colorado Springs, etc). Now obviously all those tend to have high tourism traffic which helps Southwest make it viable. Heck, SW is doing well in Montrose and Steamboat. And they're doing super well in Colorado Springs which is closer to Denver, SW's largest airport.
This all makes me think Knoxville would be great. BNA is a great connection point. Seems too close? Knoxville and Nashville are an hour further apart than Denver and Colorado Springs are.
I'd treat Knoxville similar to Birmingham or Charlotte with flights to Nashville, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago-Midway to start with maybe additional or seasonal service from Dallas-Love and Denver. Possible seasonal service to Orlando.
Andrew E
DEN (CLT) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest
DEN (CLT) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest
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Southwest would have already been in Knoxville had it been economically feasible.
I just don't see it in the cards.
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When AirTran was serving CAK, they did so instead of serving CLE and it was one of their stations that grew into a decent sized station (It was such an important station for the airline that they once held their annual meeting there instead of Atlanta or Orlando..). But for Southwest, the numbers just didn't justify keeping the station open after they acquired AirTran.
TYS may be too small of an airport for Southwest. The terminal has 12 gates, Allegiant and Frontier each have a gate, while American, Delta and United each have 3 gates. There is a single common-use gate, but that would likely be inadequate for Southwest, as I would venture they'd want at least three gates and unless one of the other airlines would be willing to sublease gates (Assuming that those other gates use computer systems that allow any airline to access their systems via them.). I worked at AirTran back when they served TYS and the only thing that kept them on the route as long as they did was the mail revenue (Same was true when they were flying to BDL.), as I remember sending out many an ATL-TYS flight with a few dozen passengers.
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@vespajet wrote:
When AirTran was serving CAK, they did so instead of serving CLE and it was one of their stations that grew into a decent sized station (It was such an important station for the airline that they once held their annual meeting there instead of Atlanta or Orlando..). But for Southwest, the numbers just didn't justify keeping the station open after they acquired AirTran.
TYS may be too small of an airport for Southwest. The terminal has 12 gates, Allegiant and Frontier each have a gate, while American, Delta and United each have 3 gates. There is a single common-use gate, but that would likely be inadequate for Southwest, as I would venture they'd want at least three gates and unless one of the other airlines would be willing to sublease gates (Assuming that those other gates use computer systems that allow any airline to access their systems via them.). I worked at AirTran back when they served TYS and the only thing that kept them on the route as long as they did was the mail revenue (Same was true when they were flying to BDL.), as I remember sending out many an ATL-TYS flight with a few dozen passengers.
Pensacola has only one gate, so it's feasible as long as they have a spot for 737's. I don't believe it is shared throughout the day though, I think they would want one dedicated gate.
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With recent AA developments such as better award prices, the only WN advantage is two free bags, but this can be cured by getting AA credit card, you can get 1 free bag and up to 4 or 8 companions free bags. Yes, this will cost you at least $95 per year, but it gives additional benefits. I personally just got AA Executive card recently, which also gives access to Admirals Clubs and partner lounges.
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@yugi wrote:
With recent AA developments such as better award prices, the only WN advantage is two free bags, but this can be cured by getting AA credit card, you can get 1 free bag and up to 4 or 8 companions free bags. Yes, this will cost you at least $95 per year, but it gives additional benefits. I personally just got AA Executive card recently, which also gives access to Admirals Clubs and partner lounges.
Two free bags, open seating, no change fees, enhanced options with the WGA+ fare, there are many other good features - but anyway, please stay on topic of the thread pertaining to any information you know about Knoxville TYS airport.
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I can certainly see your position that AA is the better choice for Knoxville TN at the moment.
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I called Southwest again today while I was in the car. I explained my prior call as well as my post here which was debated as proprietary information which would never be released via the Customer Service line.
I was assured that there is nothing secret about which airports that Southwest intends to add to their list and that I should rest assured that Knoxville TN is not one of those locations, at least not in the foreseeable future.
In addition, I called McGhee Tyson airport and asked about Southwest being a future carrier. After being passed to a few people, I was told that there is no information as to when or if Southwest would use their airport. I also brough up the 2015 renovation of the airport which was intended to "lure" Southwest which didn't happen. I was told that "obviously that didn't work".
So, there you go. The only thing left to do is to invoke my journalist credentials and write a story document sources. But, I'm not that interested.
At this point, I'd suggest waiting another 52 years and see if things change.
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