I like Southwest and feel that they have, more than any other airline, executed an extremely consistent business plan for nearly 40 years.  I think they’re a better value today than they were 20 years ago and I recommend them frequently when people ask me for a suggestion on what to fly. 

That said, I think Southwest has a few weaknesses that have really begun to stand out in the last few years.  One of those is democracy.  There was a time when a passenger on Southwest Airlines knew one thing for sure:  everyone got on that aircraft on pretty equal terms.  Lately, in the drive to attract a more business oriented passenger, things have begun to seem, well, different.

Now some passengers appear to be more equal than others. 

That comes from some of the fees that Southwest has instituted.  Mind you, I like their approach to fees in general because you are getting more for paying more on Southwest vs other airlines charging you for what was once included.   But this rather soft approach to offering something attractive to the business traveler is starting to look a bit silly. 

I genuinely believe that Southwest should look at adopting a business class on their aircraft.  I think they could pioneer a different business class that offers value, comfort and workspace for a great price and I think buying Airtran gives them the chance to take a look at the viability of that.  It would be poor form to dismiss it out of hand at this point.

They’ve already said they’re going to replace/upgrade their IT systems and I think that’s fantastic.  However, I would suggest that instead of an internally focused effort over many years, it’s time to do a cost benefit analysis on adopting an industry standard.  There is a reason for Southwest’s present system and that has to do with the rather unjust way it was handled in other reservations systems nearly 2 decades ago. 

Thing is, that world doesn’t really exist anymore.  I admired their approach to internet sales and going it alone.  I liked that they saved money on travel agency fees back in those days.  But those days are over and I wouldn’t mind seeing Southwest listed alongside other airlines when I shop. 

I think Southwest is now missing traffic because they aren’t listed alongside other airlines on travel websites.  I think they’re too easy to forget in many instances and a bit of a pain to compare fares with at other times.  Adopting new IT systems is a perfect time to do a cost benefit analysis of joining the rest of the world again when it comes to booking a flight. It might be the right decision.

Southwest likes experiments and buying Airtran and deciding to keep the Boeing 717 fleet is an experiment.  Southwest will see how pilots get along with the concept of two fleet types and how managing crews across these types works out for them.  It also allows them to see what happens when they right-size an aircraft to a market.  That’s all good but I think they could stand to go one step farther.

Which leads to the idea that Southwest doesn’t have hubs.  Well, actually, they do.  If you want to call them focus cities, fine by me but they’re hubs.  People fly aircraft into these “hubs” and connect with other flights to other destinations.  The difference is that flights into and out of these hubs are more rationally scheduled and don’t involve “banks” of connecting flights.

But they still have “regional” flights bringing traffic to these “hubs” where passengers can connect to a flight to a destination farther away.   It’s time to look at the possibilities of flying these “regional” flights with different equipment.  It is no secret that I like the turbo-props for these flights because a turbo-prop can generally fly a segment just as fast as a jet when its distances are under 400 miles. 

Southwest has a lot of sub-400 mile routes and I think they’re going to have more in the future, not less.  A fuel efficient turbo-prop would permit Southwest to offer even lower fares and with Southwest’s famous ability to operate and maintain aircraft, I think they could make it work at a level not seen in the US so far.

But if turbo-props are just too revolutionary, they should also take a look at the latest generation of so called regional jets.  I like the Embraer E170/190 class for Southwest.  It fits all their original criteria for a jet and can fly those sub-400 mile routes very quickly and efficiently.  It’s a better choice for a two type fleet than the 717 is.  And it has the range to fly some long and thin (for Southwest) routes that would fit well within their point to point style of flying.

It’s a great time for Southwest to learn from this merger.   I respect their decision to be Southwest but that decision doesn’t mean things don’t change.  Just looking at Southwest’s history for the past 20 years will reveal plenty of change and it feels like one of those moments when SWA can adopt some change while integrating another airline.  They would be wise to examine what Airtran was doing right before discarding it out of hand.

Filed under: Airline Service by ajax