Southwest Plans to Cut Flights to Atlanta to Save Money, and Its Unions Aren’t Happy
Southwest Airlines plans to eliminate about a third of its flights to Atlanta next year to save money as the airline comes under pressure. from a hedge fund to increase profits and boost the airline’s stock price.
Retreat in Atlanta, where Southwest much smaller than Delta Airlineswill eliminate more than 300 jobs for pilots and flight attendantalthough they still have the opportunity to relocate, according to the company.
A Southwest official said Wednesday that the airline needs to cut unprofitable routes and that “demand into Atlanta does not support our flight levels.”
While airline planners “try everything possible before making tough decisions like this, we had to make this change to help return us to profitability,” an Atlanta-based official said. Tiffany Laurent said in a memo to employees.
Shares of Dallas-based Southwest fell 4.6%.
Southwest executives are expected to detail other changes they plan to make when they hold a meeting with investors on Thursday. The session is in response to Elliott Investment Management Campaign ARRIVE shakes Southwest’s leadership and reversed three years of declining profits.
Southwest will cut 58 flights per day and reduce its presence at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 18 to 11 gates, according to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. The news is heartbreaking for Atlanta-based employees, the union said.
“It is appalling that the airline with the strongest network in the history of our industry is now being forced to withdraw from a major market simply because this management team has failed to grow and innovate,” the union said in a memo to pilots.
Bill Bernal, president of the Transport Workers Union local that represents Southwest flight attendants, said his union is outraged by the job cuts in Atlanta. He said Southwest has assured the union it will grow in Atlanta.
“This is gaslighting at its finest,” Bernal said in a memo to union members. “Once again, flight attendants are paying the price for poor management decisions.”
“Decisions like this are difficult for our company because they impact our employees, but we have a 53-year history of ensuring they are taken care of,” a Southwest spokesperson responded.
While pulling back in Atlanta, Southwest on Wednesday announced its schedule through June next year, including new routes between Nashville and six other cities along with five new overnight flights from Hawaii to Las Vegas and Phoenix. Those additional flights will begin in April.
Earlier this year, Southwest withdraw from four smaller markets and announced it would curb hiring in response to its weakening finances and delays in receiving new aircraft from Boeing aircraft.
More notably, CEO Robert Jordan said in July that Southwest would Start assigning passengers to seats and dedicate nearly a third of its seats to premium service with more legroom.
