Oct 11, 2007 10:48 am US/Central
Southwest CEO Cautious About Fall Travel Demand
DALLAS (AP) ―
The chief executive of Southwest Airlines Co. said Wednesday that he is cautious about the economy and demand for air travel this fall but has no immediate plans to cut back on expansion.
Southwest and other carriers packed their planes with vacation travelers this summer, but fall is traditionally a slower time for airlines.
"We're a little cautious about the economy and some of the weakness that we saw early in the year," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. "We were concerned that after we got past the summer months that we might see some softening again."
Occupancy levels on Southwest fell from record levels over the summer but were slightly higher than in September 2006. Kelly called it "a solid month."
Kelly declined to discuss booking trends for the rest of the year, hinting that Southwest might address that next week when it reports third-quarter financial results. He said the company was sticking with its plan for 6 percent annual growth in capacity and expects to have 520 planes in its fleet by year end.
Kelly made the comments during a news conference to unveil a remodeled gate area at Love Field.
Southwest plans to spend $30 million to $40 million to give gate areas a facelift and allow customers to board by numbers instead of in three large groups.
The remodeled Gate 11 at Love Field includes 15 vinyl-covered black armchairs with side tables and power outlets for plugging in laptops and other devices. The rest of the gate area had modified bench seats similar to current seating.
The airline said it would also outfit gate areas with family areas including kid-sized tables and chairs, and children's programming on television monitors. The Love Field gates were last redesigned in the early 1990s, Kelly said.
"We can do a better job of making the travel experience better for our customers," Kelly said.
The upgraded gate areas are complete in San Antonio and will be finished next week in Dallas and in another dozen airports by early November, when the new boarding process takes effect, airline officials said.
Southwest expects to retrofit gate areas at all 62 airports it serves -- more than 400 gates -- by mid-2008.
The airline is considering other changes, including in-flight wireless Internet service. Kelly said the Dallas-based carrier expects to equip four planes with wireless service by next June.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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