SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — Southwest Airlines has no timetable for when it could begin offering nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Atlanta.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, addressing the 16th annual Boyd Group International aviation conference today, said the airline, the busiest operating at McCarran International Airport, would look into nonstop flights to and from Atlanta after the initial wave of flights begin operating.
Southwest announced a week ago that it would offer nonstop flights between Atlanta and Austin, Texas; Baltimore-Washington International Airport; Denver; Chicago’s Midway Airport; and Houston’s Hobby Airport, beginning Feb. 12. Southwest likely will offer connecting flights from Las Vegas through those airports since it didn’t make the first cut for nonstops.
Southwest has made no secret of its plans to enter the Atlanta market and going head to head with airline behemoth Delta, which is headquartered there. Entering the market became clear when Southwest announced the acquisition of AirTran, the No. 2 player in the Atlanta market behind Delta.
Kelly was one of the speakers at the Boyd conference, which has drawn 300 airline, airport and aircraft manufacturing experts.
Kelly offered an update on Southwest’s growth initiatives, which he discussed this month in an interview with Vegas Inc.
Southwest’s growth is centered around four initiatives, the upgrade to Southwest’s Rapid Reward loyalty program; the completion of the acquisition and integration of AirTran; the acquisition of 175-seat Boeing 737-800 series jets; and upgrading reservation technology in preparation for Southwest flying to new destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean and Canada.
Kelly was one of several speakers on the first day of the two-day event, speaking after aviation expert Mike Boyd opened the conference by identifying industry trends.
Boyd said air travel will grow, but at slower pace. He said there are several reasons for the slowed growth, including higher ticket prices resulting from escalating fuel costs and business travelers growing increasingly weary of airport delays and security hassles.
Several airlines are dropping short-haul routes because business travelers are more inclined to drive to avoid airport snags. Boyd noted that Southwest recently ended its service between Seattle and Spokane, Wash.
Boyd doesn’t think high-speed rail will affect air travel. In fact, he thinks the United States will never develop a reliable high-speed rail network.
Other highlights from the Boyd conference:
• Boyd and a representative of the oneWorld alliance believe alliance flying with oneWorld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance could become more important on international routes as airlines seek ways to cut costs while moving customers on long flights. Air Berlin, India’s Kingfisher Airlines and Malaysia Airlines will join oneWorld next year.
• The airline with the third-largest fleet in the world is based just more than 100 miles away from Las Vegas. St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines operates more than 700 planes under the SkyWest, Atlantic Southeast and ExpressJet brands. The commuter airline partners with United, Delta and Alaska Airlines and next year will work with US Airways, primarily out of its Phoenix hub. Of 659 airports with scheduled service, 498 are served exclusively by regional carriers such as SkyWest. In Nevada, commuter carriers serve Elko and Ely.
• Canada’s WestJet, McCarran’s busiest international air carrier, is enthused with the Las Vegas market. “Whenever we need a boost, we just point the plane to Las Vegas,” said Duncan Bureau, vice president of sales for WestJet.
• China has committed to building 45 airports in the next five years to bring the total to more than 220, investing $232 billion in aviation. Boyd remains somewhat skeptical about whether all those airports will be built.
• American Airlines is testing technology in 22 markets that would give automatic alerts to passengers whose bags didn’t make it on their flights.
• Airbus Industries is going to start putting fuel-saving extensions on the tips of the wings its A320 family of twin-engine jets. They’re calling them “sharklets.”