January 10, 2008
Southwest Airlines is reshuffling its flight schedule, eliminating 40 existing flights from its schedule and adding 49 others. The changes, which take effect May 10, 2008, will be seasonal to accommodate summer traffic, the airline said.
"Southwest Airlines is concerned about slowing economic growth, and we want our flight schedule to be built around flights that are in high demand," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer. "Our employees continually evaluate our flights to see how we can offer our Customers the most efficient flight schedule in the business."
Southwest Airlines said it is offering special fares for all new nonstop service. Fares are as low as $79 one-way with a 14-day advance purchase and as low as $99 one-way with a 21-day advance purchase. Fares apply only to new service.
"Southwest is intent on strategically changing its flight schedule in 2008 to reflect demand and grow revenue -- even adding seasonal flights when we can," Kelly said. "We've improved our boarding procedures and updated our gate areas to make our customers more productive."
Southwest is the only U.S. airline to remain consistently profitable this decade, and enjoys an unprecedented string of 34 consecutive years of profitability. Southwest attributes its profitability to a low cost structure, strong balance sheet, and the most comprehensive fuel hedge of any major U.S. airline.
Southwest Airlines, once a regional discount airline, has evolved into one of the nation's largest carriers in terms of domestic passengers enplaned. It currently serves 64 cities in 32 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,300 flights a day and has more than 33,000 employees system-wide.
