Not the best place for this but I didn't want to start a new thread.....Jim
From Aviation Daily:
Southwest Looking For Used Planes To Satisfy Demand
By Lori Ranson
07/20/2006 04:07:27 AM
After more than doubling its quarterly net income to $333 million, Southwest is tapping the used aircraft market for Boeing 737-700s to fulfill what CEO Gary Kelly described as "tremendous opportunities in the near term to grow revenue."
The carrier is taking 17 more -700s in 2006 and has 35 deliveries planned next year. It projects no aircraft retirements in the next two years, CFO Laura Wright said yesterday during an earnings call, adding that retirements probably wouldn't start before 2009. She also pointed out that demand for Boeing narrowbodies in Asia and Europe is strong, making it difficult to secure delivery positions before 2010.
Based on demand, Southwest could use another 20 planes on top of the 52 aircraft coming onboard through 2007, CEO Gary Kelly said. The airline won't seek that many planes, Kelly said, adding that the number is "just an order of margin." He ticked off several markets where the airline needs more aircraft, including Denver, Las Vegas, Raleigh, Reno, Chicago and New Orleans.
As it hunts for used -700s, Southwest posted a 26% rise in quarterly revenues to $2.45 billion from $1.94 billion. Net income rose from $144 million to $333 million. The carrier cited several reasons for its strong second-quarter performance, including a 5% drop in competitive capacity and a schedule optimization initiative that trim inefficient flights and allocate those planes to higher-revenue markets. Kelly said similar enhancements are planned in the short term.
Despite strong fuel hedges that spurred a cash benefit of $225 million, Southwest's unit costs, excluding fuel, rose 4.9% to 6.68 cents. The airline actually paid less per gallon during the second quarter -- $1.42 cents versus $1.46 in the first quarter.
Salaries, wages and benefits per available seat mile grew about 6.9%, Wright said. The airline incurred premium pay expense as a result of not being optimally staffed at some of its locations.
Although Southwest has instituted some fare increases, Kelly played down the latest spike on July 4, noting it affected only about 20% of the airline's passengers. He emphasized Southwest wanted to generate revenue gains aside from raising fares. Year over year, the airline's average fare for the second quarter jumped from $92.94 to $107.38. While Southwest's average fare broke the $100 mark during the second quarter, JetBlue's average fare during the first quarter was $107, essentially unchanged for the past two years (DAILY, April 26), and that carrier's executives are focusing on better revenue management to get an improved mix of fares.
Net margins for Southwest in the second quarter were 11.2%, and it posted operating margins of 17.5%. Its cash balances stood at about $3 billion, with projected capital spending of $1.3 billion in 2006.
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