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WN to purchase LGA slot's from ATA

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Having trouble's with the link, but the article states that WN will purchase 14 take off and landing slot's for a total of 7 flights. No news on routing and it's subject to the BK judge. Bid is at 7.5M
 
I would bet that if they are successful in purchasing from the court, that all 7 flights will be to MDW.
 
I would bet that if they are successful in purchasing from the court, that all 7 flights will be to MDW.
I think that it's just another sign of Gary's imprint. There is a new thinking that big congested airports are not all that bad. And I believe that you are correct that all or most will go to MDW.
 
What about 3 to MDW and the remaining 4 split between BWI/IAD and PVD/MHT?
If you are thinking of competeing with USAir and Delta on the shuttle routes, it's gonna take mote than 2 round trips a day to impact that market. I say let's trust the company to do their usual excellent job. I "ll do my part by doing my usual excellent job!
 
What I find interesting is that WN will be purchasing ATA in it's entirety, due to the rules the FAA placed on the LGA slot auctions - ATA's 14 slots would be auctioned off unless another air carrier buys all of ATA, in which case the slots would be transferred to the acquiring carrier.

Does anyone have any info on what planes/facilities ATA actually owns rather than leases? And of course the big question of what happens with the ATA employees.

Jim
 
The bid does not contemplate operating ATA but it is
intended to allow WN to acquire the 14 LGA slots.

WN will not acquire, as a part of the bid, any aircraft,
facilities, or Employees of ATA.
 
Service begins June 28, 2009 with 5 daily LGA-MDW roundtrips and 3 LGA-BWI roundtrips for a total of 8 roundtrips per day.

From an article in the New York Times (emphasis mine)

Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge approved Southwest’s $7.5 million bid for ATA’s 14 takeoff and landing slots, which would give it the capacity of seven peak-period flights a day in and out of La Guardia. Through bartering, it traded in those for eight slots spread throughout the day.
 
Interesting quote about "bartering".

On BlogSouthwest.com, Bill Owen in Schedule Planning says we asked for and were allowed to operate a MDW RT outside the slot control times, 7a - 10p.

Haven't seen the schedule yet, but will be interested in how the service flows!!

Service begins June 28, 2009 with 5 daily LGA-MDW roundtrips and 3 LGA-BWI roundtrips for a total of 8 roundtrips per day.
 
Here's Mike Boyd's take on WN's entry into LGA (pdf file)

His theory is that is that these flights will be successful because of connecting traffic between LGA and other cities through either MDW or BWI and not neccessarily because of folks flying between LGA & MDW or LGA & BWI.

Something I found interesting was according to this July 8, 2002 article from Forbes Magazine,

Traditional carriers operate hub-and-spoke networks where 60% of passengers hop on connecting flights to get to their final destinations. Adding nonstops to such a network siphons off traffic from connecting flights and hurts the economic advantages of the hub. Southwest doesn't have that problem. About 80% of its passengers get off at each stop

...which leaves the other 20% as either connecting or through-passengers.

Mike Boyd is now estimating that 30% of WN's passengers are making a connection. I'm guessing that loosening the Wright Amendment restrictions and allowing DAL passengers to connect to points beyond the Wright Amendment perimeter played at least a small part in the rise.
 

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