Flight Optimization-that is likely how WN WILL be able to expand it's low-fare brand across the country with the acquisition of F9. They are not just double-talking on this. WN has added 4 cities to its map this year with this program, and they did this essentially without growing the fleet. They dropped under-performing flights to redeploy the aircraft where they could make the most money at the current time.
With both airlines competing on so many routes from DEN, there is a lot of overlpap and over-capacity. So instead of having a combined 7 nonstops each way DEN-MSP, the schedule would be optimized to 5. This eliminates excess capacity and frees aircraft to be deployed elsewhere. Everyone wins!
I am certain that some airbuses will be returned to their respective owners through this process, but some will continue to fly, allowing moderate expansion while keeping costs down. Very innovative and flexible! Yet another reason why F9 employees should be excited about joining with WN.
WN continues to show the world that it is an industry leader that is not afraid to try new things. I am sure that business practices and innovations that worked well at F9 will be assimilated into WN, wherever possible.
I am excited at the prospect that Frontier won't just be liquidated or mismatched with Midwest, and that there is real potential to have WN in Anchorage!!! Good luck to all, and happy merger!
Anja Gensel
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Frontier employees are very lucky to have WN coming to their rescue. Southwest is THE most successful airline business model in aviation history! Those who are saying that WN will raise fares in DEN are talking smack! Have those folks heard of the "Southwest Effect"??? Also, there's still the air disaster called United, which although likely to be liquidated itself at some point in the future, is still the Big Kahuna in DEN. So even if WN bought F9, there's still big competion on EVERY route.
Also, WN has implemented industry standard-setting labor agreements with its employees. Alaska Airlines has adopted WN's flight attendant contract and bidding system(just one example). WN has rarely if ever had ANY labor issues, in it's entire history. And most of all, WN is an innovator, not an immitator. 10-minute turns, cash register reciepts for tickets, no interline agreements, single-aircraft type, flight attendants in gogo boots and hotpants, and then in polos and shorts! Numbered boarding, and on and on! These guys have survived brutal corporate attacks by the likes of Braniff and American, and are still here and thriving.
The fact that WN is looking at your airline means that you've all done a great job building your airline. Take it as the compliment that it is, and look forward to working for the most consistantantly successful and profitable airline in the industry!
I realize that mergers are usually bad and scary. I have been through a train wreck merger myself (Piedmont/USAir/PSA), and 2 bankruptcies(Markair and National). USAir litterally dismantled poor PSA (which WN's format is loosely based on), and took us at Piedmont from the best airline in the country, to the worst. They quickly got rid of our more effiecient Dayton hub to feed the wretched Pittsburgh hub. Many of our jet routes were quickly handed off to Express, as well as our famous intra-florida service, and our Syracuse and Baltimore hubs went away soon after. Charlotte was also neglected for several of the earlier post-merger years.
Seniority lists were a nightmare and our unions didn;t match.
WN makes better decisions than the above mentioned disaster. They only acquire other airlines that fit them well. Swallowing another company can be like swallowing poison, if not done right.
I am certain that the managers at WN realize this. USAir should never have been allowed to purchase PSA, because the service-formats were completely different. PSA was an LCC, and USAir and Piedmont were full-service. The two "cultures" and service formats don't mix AT ALL! A point that appearantly was lost on AirTran when they went after premium airline Midwest not that long ago. What a calamity that would have been! Anyone remember the 4-way pile-up of Continental, People Express, NYAir, and the old Frontier??? And then throw in Eastern as a wholly-owned subsidiary??? It took CO several years to recover from that mess.
So what would Republic do with F9? Merge it with newly acquired Midwest? At the very least, there would be a code-share. So how would premium Midwest passengers respond to their connecting Frontier flight offering bagels, checked bag charges and TV vs. hot meals and fresh baked cookies??
Frontier will not survive the lumbering UA behemoth at DEN on its own which could linger for atleast another year before its own merciful liquidation. And that is the next step for F9 as well. Won't it be fun to come in to work one day to find that your company is shut down and finished?
Like USAir was, Republic is flush with cash, but really doesn't have a masterplan. They are just making an asset grab. Lots of assets are great, but only if they serve a purpose and compliment each other. Frontier/Republic doesn't make sense. The only thing that would be even slightly better fit, would be a Jetblue/Frontier combination or even Jetblue/Frontier/Spirit combo. And since those guys aren't bidding, it's WN, or you guys will soon be history!
As an Alaskan, I don't want that to happen, because Frontier is our only low-fare service now(except for USAirways). I hope that Southwest will remain in the Anchorage market and even expand it, instead of getting rid of it like WN did when they absorbed Morris. We are now gripped by extremely high prices(even though we have the lowest per mile cost in the USA currently). I pay just $120 more to fly from Anchorage to Oslo, Norway than I do to fly from Anchorage to Seattle. ANC-SEA is a heavily travelled market and the biggest source of AS's revenue. It is not uncommon for AS to have as many as 20 daily flights each way, with a load factor of 99.1% year-round. The route was also Reno Air's most profitable in their system. American abandoned it after acquiring Reno Air only because of their code-share agreement with AS. AS has also recently added a 2nd daily year-round ANC-ORD nonstop.
Alaska is a very consistantly profitable market, but WN's planes will have to de-ice from November to March. However, I think that unlike the WN of the 90s, today's WN is not afraid of the bad weather markets like MSP, MDW and BOS. Today's WN is more adapted to serve the ANC market and make money here.
Anja Gensel
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The acquisition of Lynx will provide great opportunities for Southwest. The Q400 is a fast turboprop that delivers block times comparable with jets, with 24% less fuel burn. It has a serviceable range of 1450 nautical miles, and there are enough seats on the Q400 to make money in a high density configuaration. And most importantly, the aircraft is large enough, fast enough, and quiet enough, that it does not suffer from the negative public perception that other turboprop airliners conjer.
Southwest will be able to reach smaller, lucrative markets such as Northwest ARK Airport, Chattanooga, TN, or Bangor, ME, as well as increase service at places like Amarillo. Can you imagine the Southwest brand serving Abilene, Waco, Brownsville, Wichita Falls and Beaumont/Pt Arthur(again)? Think of the additional Intra-California service possibilities! Bakersfield, Monterey/Salinas, Stockton, Concord, Santa Barbara, Carlsbad/Oceanside/Vista, Modesto, Fresno......all underserved, overpriced, and with large populations. Intra-Florida service too with Key West, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Naples and several others in Florida and around the country.
Also, Bombardier is considering another stretch of the Q family to reach 100 passengers. Making it perfect to operate shorter routes that 737s can't make money on.
I urge WN managers to look at how LCCs such as FlyBe are using this revolutionary and economical aircraft to make money in this challenging environment.
You could even change the name to Heartland Airlines, which would be both reflective of Southwest's classic Heart logo and the new carrier's service to smaller, intermediate-sized cities accross the USA. The livery for Heartland can be Southwests old ochre and orange, which would still compliment the new Desert Canyon colors of the jets.
Also, please consider buying AIrTran in the future! Very little overlap, similar fleet and service format. It would also bring the WN brand to a critical size, bringing it to most of the remaining domestic markets that are serviceable profitably with jets.
Anja Gensel
former flight attendant and Southwest Groupie!
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