SOUTHWEST Airlines ! WN ! SWA !

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] may not own a plane with a headrest infotainment system, but it's still far and away the most enjoyable commercial flight you'll find in the US of A (save for [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], naturally). Granted, we'd like to see [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] offered on a few more of its flights (read: 100 percent of them), but hey, we'll take free checked bags and friendly employees any day of the week. We'll also take fuel savings and environment stewardship, both of which Southwest is aiming to give us by creating the planet's first "green plane." By utilizing recyclable InterfaceFLOR carpet, weight-saving seat covers and life vest pouches, a lighter foam fill in the seats and aluminum (as opposed to plastic) seat rub strips, the newfangled Boeing 737-700 ends up some 472 pounds lighter than a conventional one. The savings? 9,500 gallons of jet fuel per year. We're not sure when the bird is expected to take her first voyage, but here's hoping a few others are hatched in the near future.

	Trafic		Capacité		Taux de remplissage
	RPMs	%	ASMs	%	%	Modification
Delta	15,30	-6,5	18,18	-8,3	84,2	1,6
American	10,24	-2,6	12,33	-7,3	83,1	4,0
United	5,43	-3,8	10,06	-6,8	83,8	2,5
Continental	6,47	1,9	7,80	-2,4	83,0	3,5
Southwest	6,33	1,9	7,99	-9,4	79,2	8,8
Us Airways	4,67	-0,8	5,65	-1,6	82,6	0,7
JetBlue	2,02	7,2	2,50	7,1	80,8	0,1
Alaska	1,46	3,0	1,89	-1,6	77,0	3,4
AirTran	1,51	5,2	1,90	7,0	79,2	-1,3

Southwest stands ready to cut ties with WestJet

Following swirling media reports of a potential codeshare deal between Delta Air Lines and WestJet, Southwest has warned a potential codeshare agreement between the two carriers "could be inconsistent" with the agreement it has to codeshare with WestJet.
Southwest and WestJet unveiled their intentions to codeshare in 2008 and were targeting an introduction of the agreement in late 2009 or early 2010. But those plans were delayed largely due to technological projects underway at Southwest to develop the ability to forge codesharing agreements.
Today Southwest executive vice president of strategy and planning Bob Jordan said the "Southwest/WestJet project was on target in accordance with a mutually agreed upon timetable. However, WestJet in recent weeks requested material and significant changes we could not accept".
Just last month former WestJet CEO Sean Durfy, who officially stepped down today, said he and Southwest chief Gary Kelly were "committed to doing this [the codeshare] when Southwest is ready".
Comments made by Durfy's successor Gregg Saretsky to the local Canadian press have sparked speculation about a potential WestJet codeshare with Delta. The two carriers have entered into an agreement entailing Delta transferring five pairs of slots at LaGuardia airport to WestJet as part of a larger slot swap agreement between Delta and US Airways at LaGuardia and Washington National airports. Delta and US Airways are awaiting a decision by US regulators regarding their proposed swap.
Southwest introduced its own service at LaGuardia in June 2009 through the launch of five daily flights to Chicago Midway and three to Baltimore. The carrier has publicly stated its desire to expand at LaGuardia, but was effectively shut of the slot allocations at LaGuardia proposed by Delta and US Airways.
In addition to WestJet, Delta and US Airways are proposing to transfer five slot pairs each to AirTran and Spirit Airlines.
In issuing a tentative approval of an initial request by US Airways to transfer 125 Express slot pairs to Delta at LaGuardia and Delta transferring 42 slot pairs to US Airways at Washington National, US regulators requested the transfer of slots to new entrants or limited incumbents at the two airports.
Southwest, meanwhile, says it has not been notified of WestJet's intent to terminate their codeshare agreement. "If we are so notified in order for WestJet to consummate the deal with Delta, Southwest remains very interested in offering our loyal customers service to Canada via the most efficient means possible

Today, Southwest Airlines provided WestJet notice of termination of their code-sharing relationship
effective 30 days from today, after both parties agreed to move forward independently.

"Together, we believe that ending the agreement is best for both companies at this point in time," commented Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet's Executive Vice-President, Planning and Strategy.

Carrying more connecting guests to and from U.S. and international destinations is a substantial growth area for WestJet; U.S. connections are the larger opportunity.

WestJet plans to sign and implement partnerships with strategically aligned carriers from each of the major regions around the world.

To date, WestJet has been approached about potential partnerships by over 70 airlines, including a number of large U.S. carriers.

The sophistication of Southwest

Arguments that robust competition from low cost carriers will remain intact if United and Continental are successful in merging have spurred some interesting predictions about the future of Southwest Airlines.
I've listened in on most of the Congressional hearings for the last two days, essentially taking what I feel like is a virtual road trip with the airline execs and other participants.
Most of what you expect was discussed -- job protection, ample competition to protect consumers, etc. Some legislators, such as Senator Lautenberg, even slipped in personal preferences for airline service. Lautenberg in particular expressed his strong desire against the introduction of cell phone use in flight.
But one of the most intriguing topics was an assessment by Hudson Securities analyst Daniel McKenzie about what he deems as the "sophistication of Southwest".
Using an American baseball analogy McKenzie says while most US carriers are in the 7th inning while Southwest is in the 4th or 5th.
Southwest is in the midst of developing a new revenue management system that McKenzie believes will allow the carrier to tap into smaller communities over the next two-to-four years.
The carrier is already "sticking its toe in the water" with new flights to Panama City, Florida that debuted last month. McKenzie says normally Southwest will serve cities with a population of at least 200,000, but Panama City comes in just under that at 150,000.
Southwest does have some cushion with the Panama City service through a three-year revenue guarantee from a Florida real estate developer that donated land the new airport now sits on. So perhaps some smarts sits inside of its evolving sophistication.
The interesting bit about the potential evolution is can Southwest's new revenue management system support the deployment of its standard 737 fleet into those smaller markets? Delta is serving Panama City withe regional jets, offering flights to Atlanta and Memphis.
So the big question is what, if any, fleet decision will accompany the growing sophistication of Southwest? Earlier this decade there were some musings about the Embraer E-190, but those quickly evaporated.
It's not only a question for the grandaddy of all LCCs Southwest. Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet is also examining its options to delve into smaller Canadian markets to expand its domestic market share.
But for the moment each carreir remains mesmerized by the 737, content to let simplicity take precedence over sophistication.

Southwest exec: New engines won't improve 737, A320 enough

The current Boeing [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and Airbus A320 families cannot deliver the "step change" in efficiency that airlines need, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven said Thursday, calling for replacing the jets with new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft, Air Transport World [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Friday.
"The time has come to develop a replacement to the workhorse narrowbodies," Van de Ven said in the opening keynote address at ATW's Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington, according to the report. "I believe that a new narrowbody aircraft will produce one of the single most significant steps toward meeting our economic challenges."
Van de Ven's comments could be particularly significant, given that Southwest flies an all-Boeing 737 fleet.
Boeing and Airbus plan to decide this year whether to replace their single-aisle mainstays or outfit them with new, more-efficient engines. Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] earlier this month that Boeing will likely opt to replace the 737 if it can get a worthwhile replacement built by 2020.
See more in the report from Van de Ven and Pratt & Whitney's Alan Epstein