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Southwest as far as I'm aware had shown no interest in transatlantic routes, nor do I think they've hit their domestic growth limits - there are still lots of p
by Aloha 7y ago
Southwest as far as I'm aware had shown no interest in transatlantic routes, nor do I think they've hit their domestic growth limits - there are still lots of places they don't fly.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoThey fly to Hawaii now, as well as Central America and the Carib with their AirTran acquisition. As you said, lots of places to fly still.
- dehrmann 7y agoOnce Southwest gets over the hurdle of flying something other than 737s, it'll have transatlantic ambitions.
- riffraff 7y agoBut flying a single kind of plane has a lot of advantages, doesn't it? It seems that switching to a new plane would mean a drastic economic change. So the transatlantic ambitions should be a cause to go past that, rather than a side effect.
- nutjob2 7y agoHaving a single source for planes also has disadvantages, as the recent fiasco demonstrates. The CEO is on record saying that they will be evaluating having a second source of planes next year: https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-wants-a-small-airplane-from-boeing-or-airbus-and-that-could-reshape-aviation/ https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-wants-a-small-a...
- icelancer 7y agoTheir service to SEA is terrible. Competition here would be nice to CA/AZ but Delta is very reliable and inexpensive (plus it flies the superior Airbus equipment) to Phoenix, so that's a tough route to win.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoTheir service to SEA is terrible. Competition here would be nice to CA/AZ but Delta is very reliable and inexpensive (plus it flies the superior Airbus equipment) to Phoenix, so that's a tough route to win. Delta flies pretty much everything including the 737.
- Aloha 7y agoAnd given as choice, out of Seattle, I'm more likely to fly Alaska, as their equipment is considerably newer than Delta.
- inferiorhuman 7y agoDepends on the route. The last time I flew Alaska to SEA was on a 737-400 a couple years ago. They've since been retired, but their current interiors are rather sterile and have those awful slimline seats. Meanwhile I think Delta will be bringing the A220 to Seattle. Delta also flies a lot of regional carriers to SEA (and both Compass and SkyWest are pretty mediocre out of SEA). I'll take the 2x2 seating of a CRJ/ERJ over a 737 (or the Dash-8s) any day, especially Delta's newer low density layout. The Dash 8 isn't bad for a turboprop, but it's still a turboprop.
- pbourke 7y ago> Meanwhile I think Delta will be bringing the A220 to Seattle They‘re on the SEA-SJC route now, at the least. Great planes.
- icelancer 7y agoI'd rather fly Alaska most of the time too, but lock-in to Delta frequent flier miles being what they are...
- icelancer 7y agoI agree - meant to say that most of the SEA-PHX legs have been route changed to Airbus lately, which has been nice.