Yes, it's true, America's friendliest airline is reporting it is not as financially sound as previously stated. Southwest has announced it will cut 200 flights in 2009, representing about six percent of its regular daily flight schedule. The reduced schedule won't stop the airline from flying out of the 60 airports it currently uses, but the cuts will reduce frequency of flights on most routes.
The good news? Southwest is adding roundtrips between Phoenix and Burbank, Las Vegas and Orange County, and Baltimore and Orlando. Hopefully the airline won't feel a tougher pinch in 2009 and have to sacrifice the no-fee flying that's made it a favorite.
D&G
Tod's
Christian Dior
you knew that it was going to happen eventually right? i think that it's just a sign of the times on how flights are being changed and all that. they need their planes to be at capacity and if they aren't then it's something they have to reconsider. lucky for me - i don't think that my travel plans will be affected since i'm coming from NYC - flights go just about EVERYWHERE from here.
1I wish they flew to O'Hare instead of Midway... from where I live, that's three hours' drive difference!
2No blue --they need to stay at Midway. Darn I was really trying to take them a lot. I just knew something like this would mess up my plans.
3I see it as a smart move towards better operational efficiency. I haven't had a chance to see which flights are getting chopped, but I would like to guess that it is flights that are not booking very well (like the frequency of Oakland to Nashville routes).
In the future I wouldn't be surprised to see them buying terminals that are being dumped by other airlines, in an effort to expand their routes and airports.
4yes, they definitely need to stay at Midway. I haven't been on a SW DC-MDW flight that wasn't completely full in over a year (I fly it once a month) and it's now averaging $300 a flight--they aren't losing money on that route.
5I JUST booked a flight with Southwest about an hour ago! I am flying from Nashville to Oakland, CA (we are going to be visiting San Francisco) for $237!! That's insanely cheap!
6Eh, they are still doing better than any other airline out there. Full flights and happy passengers...what more could they want.
7Guess I should have seen it coming, since businesses have to make cuts wherever they can. I'm still surprised though, since Southwest is a staple for office travel!
8*an office staple for business travel. Yes, my grammar is fab.
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