Southwest Airlines Plans to Create Low Cost Airline-Cheap Flights

Monday should see Southwest Airlines complete its purchase of AirTran and create the first mega–low-cost airline on the United States, with resultant cheap flights!

The Justice Department when giving its approval to the merger indicated that the entrance of the new airline into competition with airlines such as Delta and American is likely to influence cheap tickets. It is not anticipated that competition will be reduced to a great degree and it will enable new routes to be served.

Southwest is already transporting more passengers on domestic flights than any other American airline. When it is combined with AirTran, it plans to service over 100 cities. Reports indicate, that full integration of the two airlines, will take twelve to eighteen months to implement.

The general consensus of opinion is that the merged airlines and the creation of a single carrier, offering cheap flights and cheap tickets, will make an impressive impact on the market.

Other views put forward suggest that some preferential business passengers, used to travelling in the reserved, business-class with AirTran may not favour the open-seat and single-class cabins of Southwest. This comfort may be preferred to cheap flights and cheap tickets.

Although Southwest has established itself in the market with cheap flights and cheap tickets in comparison to the legacy carriers, there are those in the industry, who expect an eventual rise in airline prices. This ism primarily based on the shrinkage of the competition, contributed to with the past merging of Delta-Northwest in 2008 and Continental-United last year.

US Airline Domestic and International Flight Traffic Rise 3.5 percent in January

US airlines’ January scheduled domestic and international traffic rose 3.5% year-over-year to 60.7 billion RPMs on a 2.3% rise in capacity to 79.3 billion ASMs, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Load factor was 76.5%, up 0.8 point from January 2010. Total passengers carried numbered 53.7 million, up 2.2% year-over-year but still 6.9% below the 57.7 million carried in January 2008.

Southwest Airlines carried the most total passengers among US carriers in January, transporting 8.3 million, up 9.7% year-over-year. The LCC was followed by Delta Air Lines (8 million passengers, up 1.6%), American Airlines (6.7 million, up 0.1%), US Airways (4 million, up 3.7%) and United Airlines (4.1 million, down 5.5%).

Southwest Airlines Top Major Carrier Enplane Passenger in Raleigh-Durham International Airport

The number of passengers boarding planes at Raleigh-Durham International Airport was flat in March, while air cargo numbers slumped, according to statistics released at the RDU Authority’s monthly meeting Thursday.

The amount of enplaned passengers totaled 373,931, up 0.4 percent from March 2010.

“Not a bad one,” Airport Director John Brantley said of the month. “But not as good as one we might have hoped for.”

Southwest Airlines was the top major carrier with 82,037 enplaned passengers. Comair, which flies routes for Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), was the top regional carrier with 23,478. So far this year, the total number of passengers boarding planes at RDU has increased 1.4 percent, to 987,429.

Air cargo, which is traditionally seen as a leading economic indicator, performed poorly. Enplaned air cargo was down 4.6 percent, to 7.3 million pounds. Deplaned air cargo was down 3 percent, to 9.2 million pounds.

“In cargo terms, not a good month,” Brantley said.

Airline Tickets : Southwest Airlines Increasing Airfares $4 to $10 per Roundtrip Ticket

Southwest Airlines, one of the busiest carriers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, is raising fares for the first time in 2011.

The increase of $4 to $10 per roundtrip ticket is being matched by other major airlines including American, Delta, United, Continental and US Airways, The Associated Press reports.

Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins told AP that the increases will help offset higher fuel and operating costs. Airlines, which lost billions in 2008 and 2009, turned profitable last year, fueled partly by higher ticket prices and various fees. Most carriers are expected to make money again this year.

Southwest raised prices $2 each way on trips up to 500 miles, $3 for 501 to 1,000 miles, and $5 each way on longer flights, AP reports.

US Airlines Raise Fare Prices on Domestic Flight as Increase Demand and Rise Oil Prices

Airlines have been increasing their airfare prices on domestic services in response to increased demand and a rise in the price of oil. Just 2 weeks after raising round-trip tickets $10, American Airlines raised prices another $20.

FareCompare, which monitors airfare pricing, says that US Airways, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines have all matched this latest hike. However, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines and AirTran Airways are some carriers that haven’t increased their prices.

This move comes at a time when passengers are still stranded due to the blizzard that hit the US northeast over the Christmas holiday. Many flights have been delayed and thousands have been canceled due to the weather.

American Airlines hasn’t, in the past, increased fares on routes where they compete with Southwest Airlines. However, it seems as though the carrier hasn’t excluded these routes this time, following the rival matching its December 15 increase.

These latest increases come after a string of rises on both domestic and international flights, and if oil prices continue to rise, so will airline ticket prices. FareCompare chief technology officer Graeme Wallace said that the months of January and February are usually the least traveled times of the year for domestic services, and airlines normally try to roll out sales. However, if oil prices continue to rise, airfares will likely follow, he added.

Industry consultancy Boyd Group International president Michael Boyd says that oil prices have risen from $80 per barrel to almost $100. Traffic may be flat at best next year and demand will probably get slightly weaker, he noted, so revenue per passenger will go up. However, the good news is that online capacity may bring prices down if the economy worsens, he added, while the industry is pretty strong to handle a modest downturn.

Cost of Air Travel Rising, As Crude Oil Prices Soar

South Floridians could encounter higher airfares when next traveling as some airlines this week began charging more system wide or on certain routes for air travel. Passengers whose travel plans were wrecked over the holiday weekend were likely the first to feel the price pinch.

Several airlines confirmed that they were raising prices on many domestic routes by $10 one way and $20 per round trip, even as snowbound passengers remained stranded at New York City-area airports earlier this week.

United, Continental and Delta said they’re raising prices effective immediately. Travel website FareCompare.com said American was too, but the airline didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines — a major operator at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Palm Beach International airports — currently has no plans to raise its fares, spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said Wednesday.

But competitor JetBlue Airways, which also flies from the South Florida airports and Orlando International Airport, has matched the fare increases on some routes, spokesman Bryan Baldwin said.

Baldwin could not say, however, which routes were affected or if the increases would be adopted systemwide.

A spokesperson for Miramar-based Spirit Airlines declined comment Wednesday, saying the airline was “still in a quiet period,” following its September IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A call to Orlando-based AirTran Airways seeking comment was not immediately returned Wednesday. The low-fare airline also operates flights to and from South Florida.

FareCompare co-founder Rick Seaney said on his website RickSeaney.com Wednesday that AirTran and Frontier were not among the airlines joining the airfare hikes.

Several airlines posted strong profits in the third quarter, and traffic has been running higher than a year ago as travel demand slowly recovers from the recession. They didn’t offer a reason for the fare hikes.

But FareCompare noted that they are facing rising fuel costs. Oil prices have climbed this year and analysts predict they will rise again in 2011 due to strong demand from developing countries such as China and India.

The fare hikes and surcharges came as airlines were still digging out from a storm that shut down airports in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, leading to at least 7,000 canceled flights. Airlines were adding a few extra flights Tuesday to handle the backlog of stranded passengers, but it was expected to take several days to accommodate all the travelers.

Airline tickets cost more lately partly due to the increase in oil prices and partly because more people are traveling as the economy improves. Prices began to rise in the last few months and are only expected to keep increasing.

In fact, airfares could rise 3.5 percent to 5 percent in the next 12 months, says Mike Boyd, president of the airline consulting and research firm Boyd Group International.

Average domestic airfares rose to $341 in the second quarter of the year, up 13 percent compared to the same period in 2009, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which looked at round trips and one-way trips for which no return ticket was purchased.

Business travelers are already feeling the pinch. One-way airfares rose 6 percent to $228 during the third quarter compared to the same period last year for tickets purchased through American Express Business Travel. One-way international business airfare rose 8 percent to $1,781 in the third quarter compared to last year, according to the American Express’ quarterly Business Travel Monitor.

Source : sun-sentinel.com

Southwest Airlines Adding Service at Logan Airport

Southwest Airlines is taking aim at US Airways as it expands at Logan International Airport. The Dallas-based airline announced Tuesday it was starting up nonstop service between Boston and Philadelphia on June 27.

Southwest will offer five daily flights, expanding its current service from Logan to Baltimore and Chicago’s Midway Airport. Read more

FAA Proposes $9.2 Million in Fines for United, US Airways

Signaling a potentially tougher safety enforcement policy, federal aviation regulators proposed $9.2 million in civil penalties against US Airways and United Airlines for various maintenance lapses affecting more than 1,800 flights stretching back to early 2008.
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Lambert-Louis International Airport To Consider Expanded Airline Incentives

Officials at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport are expected to consider a package of expanded incentives to entice new and existing airlines to add or expand service.

Airport Director Dick Hrabko plans to unveil an expanded incentive program for airport commissioners to consider and possibly adopt at their meeting Wednesday.
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Southwest Airlines Adding Daily Reno-Phoenix Flight

Southwest Airlines is adding a new nonstop daily flight from Reno to Phoenix beginning in January.

The midday flight on a 136-seat Boeing 737 will be the third daily flight between the two cities.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport President Krys Bart says it’s an important sign that at a time of growth for Southwest, Reno is “an important part of their future plans.”
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