Southwest – AirTran Merger

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DISCLAIMER: Although I am a Southwest employee, I am just a lowly dispatcher and was not involved with this transaction in any way. The opinions expressed on AndyBox.com are solely my own and do not reflect the position of Southwest Airlines, its Board of Directors, its Leadership, or anyone else who has any authority whatsoever over anything.

I’m sure many of you heard last week about Southwest’s plans to acquire AirTran. In a nutshell, we’re buying them for a combination of cash and Southwest stock, and the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2011, assuming all the regulatory agencies bless it. After that, we will merge our operations with theirs over a two-year period. The airline will remain based in Dallas with Gary at the helm.

I am VERY excited about this acquisition. AirTran is a well-run and successful airline. A couple of my coworkers came from AirTran, and they are both excellent dispatchers and valuable assets to our team. Here are some of the key benefits I see:

  • Atlanta – As the world’s busiest airport and a major business destination, ATL has been a huge hole in our network for many years. However, it’s extremely difficult to obtain gate space there. By buying AirTran, we instantly get 30 gates.
  • Other New Destinations – AirTran serves several airports that we don’t serve. Some are domestic, such as Rochester, Wichita, Branson, and Memphis. Others are international, such as Nassau, Montego Bay, and Cancun. With the exception of DFW, we plan to continue serving all of these destinations, creating a formidable nationwide network. We also get additional slots at LaGuardia and new slots at Washington Reagan, which are both very difficult to obtain.
  • New Aircraft Type – AirTran flies both the 737-700, which we also fly, and the 717-200, which is new to us. We plan to keep the 717s, configure them with 117 all-coach seats, and use them in smaller markets that don’t need the size of a 737.

For me, the main differences will be new airports, a different aircraft type, and most importantly, new coworkers. Since most of the employees at both airlines are unionized, one of the toughest questions will be how to combine similar work groups with regard to culture and seniority. It’s up to the unions, not management, to work out how to combine the seniority lists. Although my pay shouldn’t change as a result of this merger, it could boost my seniority a bit, which would help when bidding for my schedule and vacation. My main concern is that all the different unions can work out agreements that everyone can live with. I look forward to welcoming the AirTran dispatchers to our office and will probably get to sit with some of them as a trainer.

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