The Southwest Airlines pilot union is hiring several law firms in preparation for the carrier potentially acquiring another airline. Here’s a message that the union sent to Southwest pilots:
Last month, SWAPA made the decision to retain several law firms if Southwest attempts to acquire another carrier. One of those firms would be an experienced labor firm tasked with protecting SWAPA Pilots in a seniority list integration. The second — and possibly third — firm would handle the business and equity side of the transaction to ensure our Pilots were invested in the capital of the new entity. In 2010, then-SWAPA President Carl Kuwitsky and then-CEO Gary Kelly failed to follow Delta/Northwest’s lead in allowing the Pilots to be equity partners in the transaction when Southwest acquired AirTran. SWAPA will not make that mistake again.
Southwest Airlines
If the pilot union has been brought into a discussion of a possible merger, it needs to take great care not to breach confidentiality obligations. The message to pilots continues, “neither I, nor anyone at SWAPA, have any knowledge of an acquisition or merger in Southwest Airlines’ future” however “hope is not a strategy.” The union certainly thinks a merger or acquisition is in the offing for the airline.
Enilria comments, “The most likely party, by far, and one that was already highly rumored is JetBlue.”
While the two carriers (JetBlue and Southwest) have limited non-stop overlap, Southwest is already the nation’s largest domestic carrier and a merger of this sort would be a competitive tragedy in my opinion.
…Southwest likely sees JetBlue’s slot portfolio as extremely complimentary and in an unusual move Southwest exited many overlapping international routes from Ft Lauderdale (FLL), possibly to allow a merger to sail through more easily.
With Carl Icahn having taken a stake in JetBlue and getting board seats, a sale of the carrier – in whole or pieces – is certainly on the table.
Southwest has been struggling financially, but has the financial wherewithal to do this deal. They’re strong in congested airports in New York and Boston and has a strong presence in Florida where – international routes aside – Southwest is strong as well.
Such a merger would almost certainly face substantial opposition from a Biden administration Department of Justice. Some observers, then, would tend to rate its chances as dependent on the outcome of the presidential election. However baked into that assumption is the shaky belief that a second Trump Presidency would be similar to the first, placing ‘normie’ Republicans in positions of authority. Economic nationalists rather than pro-business or pro-market leaders seem far more likely.
Perhaps JetBlue, with its antitrust concerns, Airbus fleet, and incompatible product would be too ambitious. Enilria notes that a smaller acquisition of Sun Country and its Boeing 737 fleet could be possible. It would help to alleviate fleet constraints caused by Boeing production and regulatory problems.
JetBlue would give them South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Kelly wanted more of the NY market and B6 would give them JFK, EWR and a greater presence in BOS.
I wouldn’t call WN strong in Boston and New York
Interesting. Fleet commonality didn’t stop Southwest from acquiring AirTran; however they eventually unified the fleet (717s to Delta etc.) Are there enough available 737s around for WN to do the same with B6 in any reasonable length of time? I honestly don’t know, but 737s seem few and far between
Greg R., I think they changed the subject in that passage to JetBlue. Definitely agree that WN is weak in BOS/NYC
I hope the government doesn’t allow such a merger. I think SW is already too large domestically. Look at what happened during their melt down two Christmases ago. It was simply too large a fail to ignore.
I vote to split SW up into 2 or 3 smaller airlines to foster the competition in domestic air travel that has been missing for quite some time.
Airline mergers have historically been anti-competitive in the eyes of DOJ . The fact others have occurred anyway makes it much less likely a future merger would be permitted as HHI’s are likely through the roof.
WN is neither strong in Boston nor NY and a WN/B6 merger is nonsense. B6 will end up in the arms of AA.
Why JetBlue and not Spirit? Spirit is a mega money löser.
JetBlue would also give them Carl Ichan et al… not good for SWA!!
The Airtran merger was a disaster for consumers so no thanks!
Every merger is a disaster for consumers but that doesn’t stop them. DOJ will make a fuss but ultimately approve. AirTran was a great airline but it didn’t stop SW from taking 4 years to dismantle them.
Go ahead, I’ve got too many WN points already, this will give me more places to go. But at a higher cost.
A Southwest acquisition of JetBlue would be the best thing Delta could ask for.
You need only look at Southwest’s presence in Atlanta – half the number of flights that AirTran had – and Salt Lake City – far smaller than WN has been – to know that a merger would be great for WN’s competitors.
And WN religiously is wedded to Boeing and the 737.
Sun Country makes far more sense – and then WN can move the planes elsewhere. WN needs planes, not to try to compete where it won’t succeed.
Both WN and B6 have major issues of their own.
The Meltdown that Southwest had 2 years ago made it very obvious that the airline is too big even for itself and also uses out-of-date systems.
jetBlue has financial issues like its stock price. This airline also has staffing and labor issues including its relationship or lack there of with unions.
Now jetBlue has to pay Spirit millions of dollars because its planned merger or buyout fell through.
I don”t think any future mergers should take place, Look what happen to American when the Usair clowns (Parker and company ) ruin a once a great company.
Southwest carries more passangers domestically than any other US airline. The DOJ wont approved WN buying out another airline, especially one as large as JetBlue or Frontier.
Tim Dunn’s constant, ridiculous and non-germane comparisons to Delta aside, he makes a good point. Sun Country would be far easier for Southwest to “digest” from virtually any perspective one could think about – from fleet compatibility, to size, and regulatory scrutiny.
Southwest has been the most consistently profitable airline over the last forty plus years – and unlike the world’s only PERFECT airline, didn’t have to resort to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during that time frame.
I would hardly state that “…it (Southwest) won’t succeed” over the long term, even though it posted a fourth quarter loss. On the other hand, one of business history’s longest unbroken strings of dividend payments was made by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and transportation geeks know what happened to it.
PLEASE. NOTANOTHER MERGER. THE IDIOTS FROM AMERICA WEST AND US AIR DESTROYED A ONCE GREAT AMERICAN AIRLINES. PLEASE. NO MORE.
I just come to the comments to see Tim brag up DAL on a post that remotely mentions JetBlue.
Never disappointed.
Get a life Tim!
I am incapable of ever not mentioning Delta. I would go through withdrawal.
I think the DOJ should break up the airlines. I think we were better of as consumers before the DL/NW, UA/CO, US/AA mergers. BREAK THEM UP!
With all the problem, Boeing is having with their planes.This may be an avenue for southwest to fly all their routes with airbus planes filling in.
Sun Country is it – fills a gap in the upper midwest and gets them compatible planes
Southwest bombed in MEX (as did JetBlue). EWR was a disaster for them. They should stick to their home grown strategy.
WN is married to the B737. I would think it is hunting for more Boeing airframes:
– Sun Country is the only logical choice with 40 B737-800. However, it does have the contract with Amazon for freighter work.
– B6 is an Airbus shop, plan and simple. Slots are its biggest value.
– Both Spirit & Frontier are also Airbus shops. Not much else to gain here except extraordinary debt.
– Maybe WN will pick up some of the pieces of the ULCC airline that recently went belly up (Lynx Air) with nine MAX 8 jets in its fleet and 17 on order. Could WN buy out the production slots
– Allegiant is currently an Airbus shop, but has 50 MAX airframes on order for 2024 delivery with 80 options
Avelo Airlines has 16 B737 700 & 800 jets and big in RDU
– A very loooong shot, but could it be Alaska?? All B737 fleet, just saying…. 😉
The article was written by Gary Leff..
My 4 year old niece has more credibility.
@ExitRow
The whole point of a merger would be fleet diversification. Are you that dense?
The issues that WN has is that they are hamstringed by Boeing. Being an exclusive Boeing operator is their disadvantage.
Sun County, while it’s a nice little airline filling a niche, adds almost nothing to Swa. A few dozen old 737-800s, which is what Swa has too many of already. The plane is widely available in the used market, and the number that Sunny has is almost just a rounding error compared to the fleet count at SWA
for those that can’t grasp it, Delta is JetBlue’s largest and most direct competitor.
DL has had a field day over the past 3 years growing in markets where JetBlue USED TO BE strong.
WN doesn’t do well in other airline hubs but Delta has taken competition more to Southwest than any other airline. DL is the only airline besides WN that flies to Midway, Hobby and Love Field
Of course there are mental midgets that can’t stand to hear how effective a competitor is but the fact remains that WN is not stupid enough to try to build hubs where DL already has hubs.
Exit Row is right. WN wants airplanes but it wants 737s, not A320s. They are committed to their single fleet model and are not going to give that up.
Hey Tim Dunn (World Traveller) it’s your old friend WeAAsles. You know, the guy that helped get you thrown off Airline Forums. Dude can you ever explain your absolutely insane obsession with Delta Airlines? I mean I think at one point you used to work for them or something but didn’t you get fired or let go?
When do you ever let go of your obsession with Delta Airlines? It’s really out there man.
BTW everything still going well in Brazil?
Boy, I sure hope the author of this point doesn’t own JetBlue shares and is looking for a quick buck.
Southwest is the McDonalds of airlines. And they attract the same people as McDonalds does…cheap, classless people. The last thing we need is a bigger Southwest, clogging up our air traffic system. Southwest can’t even run their current schedules anywhere near on time.
And Southwest does not take care of their crews. Completely garbage airline.
Southwest should not be allowed to buyout another airline.
Southwest will be buying Sun Country and Lynx Air. Alaska will buy Hawaiian. Frontier will buy Spirit on the cheap. And AA will get JetBlue for parts and routes and all those jobs will be leaving NY for Fort Worth. United will fail under heavy debt. And Delta will start to stumble after a decade on top after customers get fed up with old planes, expensive flights, and corporations afwul treatment of their customers! Thanks! Oh, and Timmy Dunn it’s your bed time!
seniority list integration legal jockeying points towards a mixed fleet situation
frontier may come with a ton of debt, but the debt holders would gladly trade that debt for equity positions in the resulting entity
ergo swapa retaining equity experts
put my money on frontier
Arguing that Delta is the world’s only perfect airline because they fly into multiple airports?
Tim Dunn arguments get dumber by the day.
Delta has already pulled back from Love Field as it was incredibly unprofitable for them
BenG
Ha Ha Ha!
Delta will fall under those plum colored uniforms!
The whole airline industry is a joke period. Airlines do not care about consumers. Money hungry.
@J. Oliff – I do not own any individual airline stocks.
There is something seriously wrong if Southwest is allowed to merge with JetBlue ! Considering a court a federal court blocked the merger of JetBlue and spirit can claiming it would kill competition in the low-cost markets what do you think that would do to Southwest and JetBlue ! Isn’t that the same thing when Southwest is considered the King of low-cost carriers
I think Sun Coast. SWA wants to expand into DFW in addition of being based at DAL. Sun Coast has those slots at DFW and similar fleet.
to no one’s surprise, the AA fan kids come out of the woodwork when someone accurately points out that Delta has succeeded mightily in competing with JetBlue and Southwest.
United is doing everything it can to get planes so it can do to ultra low cost carriers what Delta has managed to do – build hubs and grow market share in markets where non-legacy carriers are strong.
Delta just did it while United still blathers about trying to do it; American concocted a million attempts to get rid of its own people and compete against low carriers. The Alaska-AA deal is a whole sale giveaway of AA’s west coast network. the AA-B6 NEA was an attempt to do the same but the DOJ said “no so fast”
AA flies more of its network on regional jets than any other airline – in the world. It is the least international airline of the big 3.
My statements are fact and I will not be bullied by anyone that doesn’t want to hear it or tries to silence me from saying it.
And airline forums is dead. it was run by a bunch of AA-US and union sympathizers. nobody goes there any more.
How could a Southwest – JetBlue merger be allowed to happen when JetBlue – Spirit was blocked?
As much as I want to see B6 destroyed so that, in the words of Alfred Jarry, even the ruins are destroyed, and as much as I’d love to see WN being the instrument of destruction, this will never fly past the regulators. At least FL had a partially compatible fleet and a ready-made customer for what wasn’t compatible, because DL is a sleazy operation that will buy any old plane cheap. It’s a horridly bad fit from a hardware perspective.
What shot down the B6/NK merger applies even more so to a WN/NK merger, so that’s not happening. As for the others, SWAPA wouldn’t have lawyered up so much if it was something like SY. A name that’s been frequently mentioned in this conversation is MX, but, again, would they lawyer up for this? It’s only possible as a backdoor way of introducing the A220 as a replacement for 737-700s, but would WN do that? It’s not in their character.
This thread started on Enilria yesterday (disclosure: I’m a patron there) as a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” thing. Something may or may not be happening. We just don’t know yet.
Is it a good time to mention that I found Tim Dunn’s **other** airliners.net account?
It’s called “atl100million” and it’s awfully familiar in regards to writing style and arguments presented.
I have my problems with a.net (insane mods there), but they made the right decision to ban him there
All of which highlights that you BRAG about silencing a dissenting voice because you cannot stand to hear what someone who understands the industry knows.
WN will not be allowed to merge with B6 and they know it.
The more you and others talk, the more you prove what you are made of – which is a scared, biased mouth that is only interested in pushing your own narrative and shutting down every other voice.
Delta has simply done the best job since deregulation of competing against low cost carriers and growing in markets where LCCs and ULCCs have been strong.
WN is smart enough to not try to buy out an airline that is a direct competitor to DL.
If the government wouldn’t allow JetBlue and Spirit to merge, there should be absolutely no way in Hades they should allow Southwest to merge with anyone. And aside from competition issues, customers who aren’t dazzled by the flying city bus that is Southwest would lose a far superior product in JetBlue.
It’s not that you’re a dissenting voice, Tim, it’s that you attempt a bad imitation of a Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field in which you try to browbeat people into believing that Delta is all that and a bag of chips. I personally won’t fly them due to consistently bad service, helped by the fact that my main airport is a hub for both their main competitors, so I don’t need to fly them and I’m glad for that. Their FAs must be trained by French waiters, to go along with their French planes.
If the subject of a thread is Delta and there’s even a whiff of negative feelings, you jump in and manipulate facts and figures to assert Delta’s dominance or non-culpability. If the subject of a thread isn’t Delta, you jump in and try to make it All About Delta. People get sick of this. I admire Gary and Ben (and to a lesser extent Matt for your rare appearances there) for their patience with you. The places that banned you have a reason for doing so. Maybe the blame for that lies in the mirror, assuming that you cast a reflection.
@O Hare, I’m pretty sure Gary loves the clicks Tim gives him and Ben is clearly endeared by him.
He got banned off the CrankyFlier blogs for a while in 2021 because he kept insulting Brett and others for the most ridiculous reasons.
I went through his atl100million and worldtraveler posts on a.net, he would frequently resorts to insults and rudeness whenever he lost or was losing the argument, which happened frequently.
No wonder he got banned.
You clearly don’t read Cranky Flier because I have posts regularly on there.
And you still highlight that you can’t accept reality so you want to have people banned that you can’t accept.
I’ve known that for years. So glad you finally have the balls to admit it in writing.
I will not be deterred.
We’ll be down to four majors and the bus terminal.