Quite a few cities are getting surprised by who is going to retain Southwest Airlines service and who isn’t.  The analysis by most is that it’s all about whether or not the city is big enough to retain service by Southwest’s standards and while that’s true on the surface, there is more to the story.

It’s about who’s running the airport and who is running the city.  If the city has an airport board and director who knows how to make a business case to an airine, Southwest will listen.  If those people know how to supply valid data to Southwest, the airline will listen.

It’s also about what city is willing to partner up with Southwest and even encourage local business to use Southwest for mainline service. 

But even then, Southwest is smart enough to look at what it can change in the existing airline model for a city.  A great example is Wichita, KS.  Southwest knows that it can provide service to other Southwest cities that make far more sense for travelers from Wichita than the current Airtran service from Wichita to Atlanta. 

Yes, it’s about the money but it is also about who wants to get or keep Southwest service and make the business case.  A good airport board and airport business director can make all the difference.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax