Southwest valuta l'apertura di lotte a lungo raggio

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Southwest targets Europe, South America with long-haul low-cost model
Wednesday September 16, 2009

Southwest Airlines plans to open international routes to Europe and South America, although so far there is "no timetable" for the move, Director-Network Strategic Planning Lee Lipton told ATWOnline at the World Route Development Forum in Beijing.

"Europe and South America are our first choice. . .but currently we are still evaluating our options," Lipton said. Southwest Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly said last month that the LCC is "seriously considering" operating international flights to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean as soon as 2011 (ATWOnline, Aug. 21).

Lipton told this website he is confident that the "low-cost, long-haul" business model can work for the carrier "just as AirAsia X and Jetstar have achieved success," adding, "it could even become a trend for LCCs in the coming days."

Interestingly, Spring Airlines, the most successful Chinese LCC, also plans to launch international service. It intends to operate to neighboring Asian countries in time for Shanghai's Expo 2010 starting in May.

However, Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines DG Andrew Herdman expressed reservations about the low-cost long-haul model, saying, "It's too early to tell if it will be a trend for the future."

He contrasted the normal low-cost business model--narrowbody aircraft, single-class cabins and online ticket sales--with a typical long-haul operation. "Once the LCCs enter the international market, they have to comply with international rules, which means they have to operate a two-class cabin on widebody aircraft and sell their tickets not only through their website but also by GDS," he told ATWOnline. "All these would make low-cost carriers look like full-service airlines, as they have a lot of convergence with carriers that choose the standard model." Herdman concluded: "I wouldn't say it can't work, but it's quite challenging."

by Katie Cantle
ATWonline
 
Non ho mai capito perchè in tutti questi anni WN non abbia mai aperto voli nemmeno per il CANADA e MESSICO ma si sia limitata solo ai voli domestici USA
 
Recentemente la flotta Southwest ha iniziato a volare in Messico per la manutenzione pesante, ma alcuni dei suoi B737/200 in pratica non hanno mai volato neppure ferry fuori sallo spazio aereo degli USA. Dei veri made in US in tutti i sensi, dalla nascita alla morte!
 
Finora c'é stato parecchio spazio per espandersi negli USA senza dover cercare le complicazioni di un volo internazionale. Ora che le destinazioni negli USA stanno iniziando a scarseggiare si guarda oltre confine. Bisogna comunque tener presente che il grande vantaggio competitivo di Southwest, ancor piú che tutte le altre low-cost, é la grande efficienza nel turnaround, che viene sfruttata al meglio nei voli brevi. Una volta decollati, i costi di Southwest non sono tanto diversi da quelli di tutti gli altri, ed il loro prodotto é inevitabilmente piú povero, per cui non sono convintissimo che i voli lunghi siano necessariamente un'idea vincente.
 
billypaul ha detto:
penso anche io... il modello low cost non è applicabile al lungo raggio...e stesso discorso per FR
Clicca per espandere...

I risparmi sono sicuramente molto più bassi però ormai i network che sono riusciti a mettere in piedi le low cost in Europa e in America sono impressionanti e possono essere usati per riempire i voli a lungo raggio.

Airasia sta facendo la stessa cosa con AirasiaX e sembra funzionare bene.

Secondo me uno spazio è possibile ritargliarlo, certo la maggior parte della gente non viaggerà mai low cost sul lungo raggio.
 
kenyaprince ha detto:
potrebbero infatti aprire verso qualche destinazione messicana o caraibica o canadese.
Clicca per espandere...

La complessitá comunque rimane, soprattutto se sono destinazioni che non hanno pre-clearance, le quali richiederebbero dei gate dedicati nei terminal internazionali. Per non parlare di dover gestire bilaterali (per quanto non eccessivamente restrittivi), e dover aver a che fare con diverse autoritá aeronautiche, ATC, e dover gestire altre valute, con tutto ció che ne consegue.
E le tasse sui voli trans-border sono da vertigini: un volo tra USA e Canada prevede circa $90 solo di tasse varie, senza tener conto di fuel surcharge che finora non sono ricomparse sui voli intra nord-america. Qui le tariffe a 0.01 non si vedono nemmeno con il binocolo...
 
Attenzione che le low cost come intese in USA hanno prezzi molto piu' cari di quelle europee e spesso costano meno le major già sui voli interni.
 
Southwest sticking close to home for now
Thursday September 17, 2009 Southwest Airlines yesterday moved to clarify its international future, stressing that it "does not have any plans to fly distant, long-haul international flights at this time or in the near future."

At this week's World Route Development Forum in Beijing, Director-Network Strategic Planning Lee Lipton told ATWOnline that the long-haul, low-cost model employed by airlines such as AirAsia X "could become a trend" among LCCs in the future and that Southwest was "evaluating our options" in that regard (ATWOnline, Sept. 16).

Yesterday the airline confirmed that any such venture likely is a long way off. "Our immediate focus is on developing our previously announced codeshare partnerships with WestJet and Volaris, and we have expressed interest in exploring near international markets, including Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, with our own fleet," a spokesperson told this website. "While we can't rule out the possibility in the future, we are not actively considering service to distant international markets with our own aircraft."

Three months ago, SWA said its partnership with WestJet will be delayed until late 2010 as it focuses on "near-term revenue opportunities" (ATWOnline, June 15).

In remarks prepared for delivery in Beijing, Lipton wrote that SWA and other LCCs "have only just started to make our mark on world travel" and that the nascent trend "has been confined to individual regions." He predicted that "the time is approaching when those regions will be connected by low-cost carriers providing long-haul services, complemented by airline partnerships that extend the geography of individual carriers beyond their home markets."

He wrote that as the industry evolves, LCCs will be "changing their ways or developing outside the traditional view of what a low-cost carrier should look like." He said that rather than "a sign that the low-cost carrier model has run its course," a move toward "extending the geographic reach and expanding diversity of our business model is really a sign of strength."


by Brian Straus

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Post chiuso?
 
Southwest Airlines announced a series of schedule changes beginning next May that include the addition of the new airport in Panama City, Fla., to its network (ATWOnline, Oct. 22). It will serve ECP twice-daily beginning May 23 from Nashville, Houston Hobby, Baltimore and Orlando International. Overall, the schedule from May 9 features 65 new roundtrip flights and 24 eliminated flights. Additional new services comprise twice-daily flights from St. Louis to Los Angeles and Nashville and daily to New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego and Seattle; daily from SEA to BWI, Kansas City and BNA; daily LAX-BWI, daily BNA-Oakland and daily Las Vegas-Norfolk. SWA will discontinue its daily Fort Myers-Long Island Islip flight.

www.atwonline.com
 
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