Southwest to Acquire LGA Slots

[AA 777]

Looks like Southwest will buy ATA's assets and in turn get 14 - 7 Takeoff & 7 Landing - Slots at LGA. Another move by WN into a congested airport.

No indication of what gates they will use, probably the old ATA gates. I cant imagine any legacy carrier wanting to lease them to Southwest....

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 29e9f.html

There goes the neighborhood :!: 30 Minute turns? :roll: :lol:

[Futterman]

Whoa.

[PhilDernerJr]

Isn't LGA the best example of an airport an airline like WN would NOT want to operate into?

[JetBlueAirwaysFan]

WOW! I never imagined this in a million years! I just don't understand why they would do this. Wouldn't it jeapordize their ISP station?

[USAF Pilot 07]

Any chance they are buying them in order to hold them and/or possibly resell them to the highest bidder?

[PhilDernerJr]

Any chance they are buying them in order to hold them and/or possibly resell them to the highest bidder?

That's what I was thinking. It just doesn't make sense to me otherwise.

[T-Bird76]

Not sure why everyone is so surprised... WN has been operating in airports that they never once would have been before, i.e. PHL, IAD, DEN, and MSP (soon) etc. Operating out of LGA doesn't affect ISP at all as its two different markets, WN never advertises ISP as a gateway to NYC. Gary Kelly has said a number of times WN would make some moves that would surprise the industry but would do what it must to remain profitable. I'd imagine WN will serve MDW which will be a def thorn in AA and UA's side and hopefully drive down the fares.

[Matt Molnar]

[quote=Phil D.]

Any chance they are buying them in order to hold them and/or possibly resell them to the highest bidder?

That's what I was thinking. It just doesn't make sense to me otherwise.[/quote:1m9jos38]
Not so sure about that...they purchased them through a bankruptcy court auction that anyone could have bid on. If anyone else wanted them, they could have outbid Southwest.

If they do start LGA service, it will be VERY interesting to see if they can make it work.

[Alex T]

This has been planned for awhile. It was a given LGA-DAL was going to be flown by WN metal by 2014. However WN didn't plan for ATA to go BK. This changed things very quickly.

With that, WN had to find the best way to acquire the LGA slots. In this situation getting it through ATA's BK situation apparantly seemed to be the best way.

For WN to continue it HAS to serve the NYC market, and LGA was the one airport WN wanted to target.

As for folks worried about ISP, not neccesairly so. Two different markets, and also, no different from the LA basin area, and the Bay area as well. For awhile IAH/HOU was served too.

As for turns, theoretically, WN can still do turns, in 35 min or so at the GATE. This is the target WN always plans, come in, get people off, and get people back on within the time period-in this case, 35 minutes. As for sitting for 2 hrs taxing, ya that's another story. Trust me WN has it planned. Quite possibly, they will dedicate some aircrafts to only run LGA routes, so as not to screw up the rest of the system. They do this for PHL and SFO also.

I have turned in 25 min at PHL it can be done.

Alex

[Delta777LR]

Hope to see lots of special Southwest schemes!! Southwest needs to come up with a NY scheme

[NYARTCCFAN]

Well looks like I beat all you city spotters to see SW here in Tampa. I really was hoping to SW do the River Visual when I lived on the Cliffs of the Hudson but the move here to Tampa has given me great opps to view mant schemes(Shamu my Favorite). Southwest is to Tampa what Continental is to EWR.

[Matt Molnar]

Confirmed: they are indeed planning to use the slots.

AP:

Southwest buys landing slots at New York LaGuardia
Updated 1h 19m ago

By David Koenig, AP Business Writer
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines Co. has agreed to pay $7.5 million for bankrupt ATA Airlines' landing slots at New York's LaGuardia Airport, a move that would raise Southwest's profile in the nation's largest air market.

Southwest would get 14 slots, enough to operate seven takeoffs and seven landings per day at LaGuardia.

The deal is dependent on approval by U.S. bankruptcy court, Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said Tuesday. If approved, Southwest expects to begin flying to LaGuardia next year, she said. [Full Article]

[Matt Molnar]

Update: Southwest's lead scheduling planner wrote a blog post about the deal. Yep, they're serious.

SOUTHWEST AND LAGUARDIA: START SPREADIN’ THE….POSSIBILITY????
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 05:57 — Bill Owen

Brace yourselves.

Today Southwest Airlines announced our intention to bid to begin service to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport.

Yes. You read that correctly. Southwest plans to pursue a bid to start service to LaGuardia Airport. This isn’t just big news, it’s huge. GINORMOUS! I think h-e-double-hockey-sticks just froze over…and I am certain a number of my friends in this industry have yet to pick their jaws up off of the floor!

For those of you that aren’t familiar with LaGuardia Airport (LGA), it’s the most centrally located of New York City’s three major airports. Flying into or out of LGA is guaranteed to put you in a “New York state of mind,” from the views of the Manhattan skyline on your approach or departure right down to the airport’s name itself—Fiorello LaGuardia helped build the airport in the 1930’s while he was mayor of New York City. Located in the borough of Queens, right on the “scenic” waters of Flushing Bay and close to Shea Stadium, it’s the closest major airport to Manhattan. What Love Field is to Dallas, Hobby Airport is to Houston, and Midway Airport is to Chicago, LaGuardia Airport is to New York City. [Full post]

[T-Bird76]

Another note, WN purchased ATA's operating certificate as well.

[Tom_Turner]

I had no idea how or when or where exactly they would do it, but I am not surprised overall that they are coming to New York proper.

Give them time - they'll find a way to expand here as well, and they'll be successful.

Tom