dbo861 wrote:

SXDFC wrote:

The following planes have been, or are en route to VCV as of 03/22/2020
...

Are those all 73Gs or are there some 738s mixed in there?

All WN 738s would start with N83xxX, N85xxX or N86xxX (3M8s are numbered N87xxX).

ctrabs0114 wrote:

dbo861 wrote:

SXDFC wrote:

The following planes have been, or are en route to VCV as of 03/22/2020
...

Are those all 73Gs or are there some 738s mixed in there?

All WN 738s would start with N83xxX, N85xxX or N86xxX (3M8s are numbered N87xxX).

Except for N500WR (which would've been ship 8636 during the normal numbering conventions).

Maybe some carrier isn't worried about finding Treasury bailout terms 'onerous.'

(Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) said on Thursday it intends to file an application with the U.S. Treasury department for aid related to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The aid could be in form of grants that could boost liquidity and provide job security for its employees from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2020, Southwest said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... 1K1KC?il=0

I spent a bunch more time with the new Southwest schedule reductions -- domestic only. The reductions that were loaded seem to be mid April to mid May, which unfortunately makes for a messy dataset in enilria's fantastic weekly stats. So I started comparing the first week of May 2020 versus May 2019 for a few markets, then a few more, and eventually I just decided to do them all. This was a manually tally for 2020 from Southwest.com using Monday 5/11. There may be a little noise based on rounding but these should be on the money or very close.

Note again that these are year-over-year comparisons, not a check of schedule changes loaded in the prior week. So (for example) stuff we already knew about like the closure of Newark are in the year-over-year comparisons. Further down where I highlighted the biggest dropped markets I omitted ones like EWR-MDW we already knew about. These are domestic only and specific to weekdays -- no weekend-only flights considered.

A few notes:

--Departures are reduced by almost half.in the network compared to last year
--About 1/3 of all nonstop weekday city pairs flown last May are not in the early May 2020 schedule -- of last year's 646 nonstop city pairs 220 are gone.
--High-frequency markets took the biggest beating
--Tons of intra-Texas cuts and Houston reductions, some of which may reflect that the oil glut a trashing what the virus hasn't already squashed
--Dallas lost a boatload of destinations but mostly markets with 1x,
--Denver shows the least year-over-year drop in part because it was continuing to grow. Even after the cuts some DEN markets have one more frequency than May 2019.
--Some particularly big cuts are in routes to other airline hubs such as MSP, PHL, CLT, SLC. Not sure if that suggest those competitive routes were already tough sledding for Southwest or not -- perhaps they were satisfactory but they didn't think it made sense to allocate limited resources to fight another carrier for the thin traffic.


These first four tables are Southwest stations broken into chunks by relative size, showing:
--2019 weekday flights
--2020 weekday flights (first half of May reflecting the reduced schedule)
--Percent decrease in flights
--Nonstop weekday destinations May 2019
--Nonstop weekday destinations May 2010 (first 15 days)
--Number of lost weekday destinations.


Over 100 flights/day May 2019 Ranked by Frequency Percent Decrease

… 19flt …. 20flt …. decr .. 19dest .. 20dest … lost ….. city
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
… 115 …... 43 …... -63% …... 29 …... 15 …... 14 …... SAN
… 118 …... 45 …... -62% …... 29 …... 18 …... 11 …... LAX
… 101 …... 43 …... -58% …... 24 …... 14 …... 10 …... SJC
… 157 …... 67 …... -57% …... 47 …... 28 …... 19 …... HOU
… 117 …... 56 …... -52% …... 37 …... 31 …..... 6 …... BNA
… 117 …... 57 …... -51% …... 45 …... 32 …... 13 …... STL
… 176 …... 86 …... -51% …... 49 …... 32 …... 17 …... PHX
… 211 …. 105 …... -50% …... 54 …... 41 …... 13 …... LAS
… 118 …... 59 …... -50% …... 37 …... 29 …..... 8 …... ATL
… 192 …. 100 …... -48% …... 56 …... 36 …... 20 …... DAL
… 119 …... 63 …... -47% …... 33 …... 26 …..... 7 …... OAK
… 230 …. 138 …... -40% …... 60 …... 50 …... 10 …... MDW
… 204 …. 129 …... -37% …... 54 …... 49 …..... 5 …... BWI
… 115 …... 74 …... -36% …... 38 …... 32 …..... 6 …... MCO
… 197 …. 148 …... -25% …... 58 …... 52 …..... 6 …... DEN

41-85 flights/day May 2019 Ranked by Frequency Percent Decrease

… 19flt …. 20flt …. decr .. 19dest .. 20dest … lost ….. city
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
….. 69 …... 27 …... -61% …... 27 …... 14 …... 13 …... MCI
….. 68 …... 28 …... -59% …... 29 …... 14 …... 15 …... FLL
….. 69 …... 30 …... -57% …... 27 …... 14 …... 13 …... AUS
….. 83 …... 37 …... -55% …... 36 …... 20 …... 16 …... TPA
….. 64 …... 29 …... -55% …... 21 …... 16 …….. 5 …... MSY
….. 47 …... 23 …... -52% …... 19 …….. 9 …... 10 …... SAT
….. 57 …... 28 …... -51% …... 12 …….. 7 …….. 5 …... BUR
….. 45 …... 22 …... -51% …….. 8 …….. 6 …….. 2 …... SNA
….. 85 …... 45 …... -47% …... 21 …... 14 …….. 7 …... SMF
….. 41 …... 23 …... -44% …... 10 …….. 7 …….. 3 …... SFO
….. 46 …... 29 …... -37% …... 17 …... 17 …….. 0 …... DCA


16-40 flights/day May 2019 Ranked by Frequency Percent Decrease

… 19flt …. 20flt …. decr .. 19dest .. 20dest … lost ….. city
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
….. 30 …….. 8 …... -73% …... 12 …….. 7 …….. 5 …... SLC
….. 21 …….. 6 …... -71% …….. 9 …….. 2 …….. 7 …... ELP
….. 24 …….. 8 …... -67% …... 10 …….. 2 …….. 8 …... MSP
….. 21 …….. 7 …... -66% …….. 8 …….. 6 …….. 2 …... BDL
….. 24 …..... 9 …... -63% …….. 8 …….. 5 …….. 3 …... RNO
….. 35 …... 14 …... -60% …... 16 …….. 7 …….. 9 …... IND
….. 37 …... 15 …... -60% …... 13 …….. 7 …….. 6 …... PDX
….. 31 …... 13 …... -59% …... 13 …….. 5 …….. 8 …... RDU
….. 17 …….. 7 …... -58% …….. 8 …….. 5 …….. 3 …... JAX
….. 19 …….. 8 …... -57% …….. 9 …….. 4 …….. 5 …... DTW
….. 30 …... 13 …... -56% …... 15 …….. 8 …….. 7 …... PIT
….. 26 …... 12 …... -54% …... 11 …….. 5 …….. 6 …... PHL
….. 32 …... 15 …... -54% …... 13 …….. 5 …….. 8 …... BOS
….. 19 …….. 9 …... -53% …….. 9 …….. 4 …….. 5 …... CLE
….. 33 …... 16 …... -52% …... 17 …... 10 …….. 7 …... MKE
….. 34 …... 17 …... -50% …... 16 …... 10 …….. 6 …... CMH
….. 17 …….. 9 …... -48% …….. 7 …….. 4 …….. 3 …... BUF
….. 17 …….. 9 …... -48% …….. 6 …….. 4 …….. 2 …... PVD
….. 19 …... 10 …... -48% …….. 9 …….. 6 …….. 3 …... OKC
….. 15 …….. 8 …... -46% …….. 9 …….. 4 …….. 5 …... SDF
….. 30 …... 17 …... -44% …... 11 …….. 8 …….. 3 …... ABQ
….. 17 …... 10 …... -42% …….. 8 …….. 6 …….. 2 …... RSW
….. 31 …... 18 …... -42% …... 10 …….. 8 …….. 2 …... SEA
….. 20 …... 12 …... -41% …….. 9 …….. 7 …….. 2 …... OMA
….. 35 …... 21 …... -39% …... 11 …... 10 …….. 1 …... LGA
….. 34 …... 23 …... -32% …….. 9 …….. 6 …….. 3 …... ONT


15 or fewer flights/day May 2019 Ranked by Frequency Percent Decrease

… 19flt …. 20flt …. decr .. 19dest .. 20dest … lost ….. city
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
….. 10 …….. 3 …... -69% …... 5 …….. 1 …….. 4 …... CLT
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -68% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... OGG
….. 12 …….. 4 …... -67% …... 7 …….. 3 …….. 4 …... MEM
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -64% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... HRL
….. 13 …….. 5 …... -61% …... 6 …….. 2 …….. 4 …... TUL
….. 12 …….. 5 …... -57% …... 7 …….. 3 …….. 4 …... BHM
……. 9 …….. 4 …... -57% …... 3 …….. 2 …….. 1 …... MAF
……. 9 …….. 4 …... -54% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... CHS
….. 10 …….. 5 …... -52% …... 5 …….. 2 …….. 3 …... ISP
……. 6 …….. 3 …... -52% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... PBI
….. 10 …….. 5 …... -50% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... SJU
……. 4 …….. 2 …... -47% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... CRP
….. 13 …….. 7 …... -45% …... 4 …….. 4 …….. 0 …... MHT
……. 7 …….. 4 …... -44% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ORF
….. 12 …….. 7 …... -41% …... 6 …….. 3 …….. 3 …... TUS
….. 12 …….. 7 …... -41% …... 8 …….. 3 …….. 5 …... BOI
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -40% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ROC
….. 10 …….. 6 …... -39% …... 4 …….. 3 …….. 1 …... HNL
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... GRR
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... AMA
……. 8 …….. 5 …... -37% …... 4 …….. 3 …….. 1 …... LBB
……. 3 …….. 2 …... -35% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... PWM
….. 11 …….. 7 …... -35% …... 7 …….. 3 …….. 4 …... GEG
……. 9 …….. 6 …... -33% …... 3 …….. 2 …….. 1 …... CVG
….. 11 …….. 8 …... -29% …... 6 …….. 4 …….. 2 …... ALB
……. 7 …….. 5 …... -29% …... 4 …….. 2 …….. 2 …... LIT
……. 4 …….. 3 …... -25% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ICT
……. 3 …….. 2 …... -25% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... KOA
….. 15 …... 12 …... -21% …….. 4 …….. 3 …….. 1 …... LGB
……. 6 …….. 5 …... -12% …... 2 …….. 2 …….. 0 …... IAD
……. 8 …….. 8 ……... 0% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... ECP
……. 4 …….. 4 ……... 0% …... 3 …….. 3 …….. 0 …... PNS
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... DSM
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... RIC
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... GSP


City pairs dropped which were at least 3x in May 2010
(I believe these are all new -- I removed all the previously-known drops like EWR-MDW and JAX-FLL I could think of)

4 ….. HOU ….. MAF
3 ….. HOU ….. ELP
3 ….. HOU ….. TUL
3 ….. HOU ….. ABQ
3 ….. HOU ….. MCI
3 ….. ATL ….. DTW
3 ….. AUS ….. ELP
3 ….. AUS ….. LAX
3 ….. AUS ….. SAN
3 ….. AUS ….. SJC
3 ….. CLT ….. MDW
3 ….. LAX ….. TUS
3 ….. PHX ….. PDX
3 ….. RDU ….. MCO
3 ….. RDU ….. TPA
3 ….. SJC ….. RNO
3 ….. STL ….. MSP
3 ….. STL ….. PHL
3 ….. STL ….. CMH


Largest frequency cuts in surviving markets versus May 2019
.. 19flt.. 20flt .. decr
-----------------------------------------------
.. 19 ….. 7 … 12 ….. HOU ….. DAL
.. 12 ….. 4 ….. 8 ….. BUR ….. OAK
.. 12 ….. 4 ….. 8 ….. LAX ….. OAK
.. 12 ….. 4 ….. 8 ….. SAN ….. OAK
.... 8 ….. 1 ….. 7 ….. BWI ….. BDL
.. 12 ….. 5 ….. 7 ….. DEN ….. PHX
.. 11 ….. 4 ….. 7 ….. SAN ….. LAS
.. 13 ….. 6 ….. 7 ….. SAN ….. SJC
.. 13 ….. 6 ….. 7 ….. SAN ….. SMF
.. 11 ….. 4 ….. 7 ….. SNA ….. SJC
.. 10 ….. 4 ….. 6 ….. BUR ….. SJC
.. 10 ….. 4 ….. 6 ….. HOU ….. MSY
.. 11 ….. 5 ….. 6 ….. LAS ….. PHX
.. 10 ….. 4 ….. 6 ….. LAS ….. SJC
.. 10 ….. 4 ….. 6 ….. LAX ….. SJC
.. 11 ….. 5 ….. 6 ….. SAN ….. PHX
.. 10 ….. 5 ….. 5 ….. BOS ….. BWI
…. 9 ….. 4 ….. 5 ….. BUR ….. SMF
.. 10 ….. 5 ….. 5 ….. BWI ….. FLL
.. 10 ….. 5 ….. 5 ….. DAL ….. AUS
.. 10 ….. 5 ….. 5 ….. DAL ….. SAT
…. 8 ….. 3 ….. 5 ….. LAS ….. OAK
.. 10 ….. 5 ….. 5 ….. LAS ….. RNO
…. 9 ….. 4 ….. 5 ….. LAX ….. LAS
…. 9 ….. 4 ….. 5 ….. LAX ….. PHX
…. 9 ….. 4 ….. 5 ….. LAX ….. SFO
…. 9 ….. 4 ….. 5 ….. LAX ….. SMF
…. 7 ….. 2 ….. 5 ….. MDW ….. BNA
…. 7 ….. 2 ….. 5 ….. MDW ….. PHX
…. 6 ….. 2 ….. 4 ….. BWI ….. BNA
…. 7 ….. 3 ….. 4 ….. DAL ….. MSY
…. 6 ….. 2 ….. 4 ….. DEN ….. SLC
…. 5 ….. 1 ….. 4 ….. HOU ….. BNA
.. 10 ….. 6 ….. 4 ….. LAS ….. DEN
…. 5 ….. 1 ….. 4 ….. LAS ….. SLC
…. 8 ….. 4 ….. 4 ….. LAS ….. SMF
.. 10 ….. 6 ….. 4 ….. MCO ….. BWI
…. 9 ….. 5 ….. 4 ….. MDW ….. LAS
…. 7 ….. 3 ….. 4 ….. MDW ….. STL
…. 7 ….. 3 ….. 4 ….. OAK ….. PHX
…. 7 ….. 3 ….. 4 ….. PHX ….. SJC
…. 5 ….. 1 ….. 4 ….. SLC ….. PHX
…. 8 ….. 4 ….. 4 ….. SNA ….. OAK

knope2001 wrote:

I spent a bunch more time with the new Southwest schedule reductions -- domestic only.

Impressive effort. Thanks for doing it/

Very interesting DEN does not have comparably as many cuts. Guess it reinforces the fact that it is a prime hub to serve as a great connecting point, because I’m sure local O+D has tanked, as with everywhere else.

Update from the WN operation at LAX, running 52 on the weekdays on average with all the cuts and Saturday is running only just above 30 daily departures. Even with all the cuts, load factors are still only around 5-7%... what a time we’re living in right now.

Worked back to back 16 hour days including today. There’s simply nothing to do. Work one turn in the morning sit and watch movies for about 6-8 hours then another turn in the evening then wrap up the night operation.

I went over all the Covid 19 schedule. Looks like they're keeping the network connected Via OAK,BWI,MDW,DEN,HOU and PHX. A lesser extent is BNA,ATL,LAS,DAL and MCO.
A lot of single day daily non stops got axed.
From my understanding this schedule could become the norm for 2020 with the depressed loads. It's seems setup so they can easily eliminate more daily turns between markets should they cut the schedule down further without abandoning markets all together. DEN is the main coast to coast connection point during this massive schedule change for rerouting passengers.
WN Is also going to run a few HUB to HUB Cargo/crew only flights to reposition crews around the system.

Flyguy

I did find it interesting they added extra flights from some spokes to STL (ICT/DSM) for part of it. 3 instead of 2 a day in May. I guess they must be focusing some routes on certain places to connect. Maybe makes it easier to cancel flights later? If you only have 1 a day and passengers routed thru it then you don't have a backup flight. If you have 3 then you can just move them.

It still seems to me that Southwest is flying too much if they are cutting let's say 45 % of flights and still lose money on every flight. They probably need to cancel up to 60 or 70% soon.

[*]

tphuang wrote:

It still seems to me that Southwest is flying too much if they are cutting let's say 45 % of flights and still lose money on every flight. They probably need to cancel up to 60 or 70% soon.

I think WN should be down to 1000 daily system wide flights for now.
The government money will help with payroll but it's still bleeding on every flight.

Flyguy

knope2001 wrote:

I spent a bunch more time with the new Southwest schedule reductions -- domestic only. The reductions that were loaded seem to be mid April to mid May, which unfortunately makes for a messy dataset in enilria's fantastic weekly stats. So I started comparing the first week of May 2020 versus May 2019 for a few markets, then a few more, and eventually I just decided to do them all. This was a manually tally for 2020 from Southwest.com using Monday 5/11. There may be a little noise based on rounding but these should be on the money or very close.

Great work.

Accepting CARES Act payroll maintenance funds locks the domestic DESTINATION MAP into place but does not freeze FREQUENCIES, nor ROUTES.

Example: Say WN was flying from ELP to DAL, LAS, HOU and AUS, PHX and LAX. Maintaining service ELP to any one of those six cities is sufficient (subject to historic frequencies named in the Show Cause letter). Now, think about even a modest station (say, fewer than 20 flights a day pre-Covid-19) that could have had service to six or more destinations. WN can have a very radical transformation of the route network.

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/do ... 0FINAL.pdf

knope2001 wrote:

….. 30 …….. 8 …... -73% …... 12 …….. 7 …….. 5 …... SLC
….. 21 …….. 6 …... -71% …….. 9 …….. 2 …….. 7 …... ELP
….. 24 …….. 8 …... -67% …... 10 …….. 2 …….. 8 …... MSP
….. 21 …….. 7 …... -66% …….. 8 …….. 6 …….. 2 …... BDL
….. 24 …..... 9 …... -63% …….. 8 …….. 5 …….. 3 …... RNO
….. 35 …... 14 …... -60% …... 16 …….. 7 …….. 9 …... IND
….. 37 ….. 10 …….. 3 …... -69% …... 5 …….. 1 …….. 4 …... CLT
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -68% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... OGG
….. 12 …….. 4 …... -67% …... 7 …….. 3 …….. 4 …... MEM
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -64% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... HRL
……. 9 …….. 4 …... -54% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... CHS
….. 10 …….. 5 …... -52% …... 5 …….. 2 …….. 3 …... ISP
……. 6 …….. 3 …... -52% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... PBI
……. 4 …….. 2 …... -47% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... CRP
……. 7 …….. 4 …... -44% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ORF
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -40% …... 3 …….. 1 ...... 2 ...... ROC
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... GRR
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... AMA
……. 3 …….. 2 …... -35% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... PWM
……. 4 …….. 3 …... -25% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ICT
……. 6 …….. 5 …... -12% …... 2 …….. 2 …….. 0 …... IAD
……. 8 …….. 8 ……... 0% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... ECP
……. 4 …….. 4 ……... 0% …... 3 …….. 3 …….. 0 …... PNS
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... DSM
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... RIC
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... GSP
.

Great post! Given the roughly 50% reduction, seeing the 71% reduction at ELP made me swallow hard. Big cuts at airports well served by other airlines like SLC and MSP makes sense. But ELP is pretty heavy on WN.

Some strange things at the other end of the post stands in stark contrast. ECP keeps at 8 frequencies? ELP keeps only 6. Is WN collecting a revenue guarantee? I was under the impression that they opted not to. GSP stays at 3, but PWM drops to 2? DSM loses a destination but gains a frequency to the remaining destination? Can’t claim that WN has high first class demand to cut losses in the markets keeping a high percentage of their flights.

While interesting, this may be short lived since I agree that more flying needs to be reduced. I’m sure WN has a game plan that factors in the Fed support program.

LotsaRunway wrote:

knope2001 wrote:

….. 30 …….. 8 …... -73% …... 12 …….. 7 …….. 5 …... SLC
….. 21 …….. 6 …... -71% …….. 9 …….. 2 …….. 7 …... ELP
….. 24 …….. 8 …... -67% …... 10 …….. 2 …….. 8 …... MSP
….. 21 …….. 7 …... -66% …….. 8 …….. 6 …….. 2 …... BDL
….. 24 …..... 9 …... -63% …….. 8 …….. 5 …….. 3 …... RNO
….. 35 …... 14 …... -60% …... 16 …….. 7 …….. 9 …... IND
….. 37 ….. 10 …….. 3 …... -69% …... 5 …….. 1 …….. 4 …... CLT
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -68% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... OGG
….. 12 …….. 4 …... -67% …... 7 …….. 3 …….. 4 …... MEM
……. 6 …….. 2 …... -64% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... HRL
……. 9 …….. 4 …... -54% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... CHS
….. 10 …….. 5 …... -52% …... 5 …….. 2 …….. 3 …... ISP
……. 6 …….. 3 …... -52% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... PBI
……. 4 …….. 2 …... -47% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... CRP
……. 7 …….. 4 …... -44% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ORF
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -40% …... 3 …….. 1 ...... 2 ...... ROC
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... GRR
……. 5 …….. 3 …... -38% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... AMA
……. 3 …….. 2 …... -35% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... PWM
……. 4 …….. 3 …... -25% …... 3 …….. 1 …….. 2 …... ICT
……. 6 …….. 5 …... -12% …... 2 …….. 2 …….. 0 …... IAD
……. 8 …….. 8 ……... 0% …... 5 …….. 4 …….. 1 …... ECP
……. 4 …….. 4 ……... 0% …... 3 …….. 3 …….. 0 …... PNS
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 2 …….. 1 …….. 1 …... DSM
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... RIC
……. 3 …….. 3 ……... 0% …... 1 …….. 1 …….. 0 …... GSP
.

Great post! Given the roughly 50% reduction, seeing the 71% reduction at ELP made me swallow hard. Big cuts at airports well served by other airlines like SLC and MSP makes sense. But ELP is pretty heavy on WN.

Some strange things at the other end of the post stands in stark contrast. ECP keeps at 8 frequencies? ELP keeps only 6. Is WN collecting a revenue guarantee? I was under the impression that they opted not to. GSP stays at 3, but PWM drops to 2? DSM loses a destination but gains a frequency to the remaining destination? Can’t claim that WN has high first class demand to cut losses in the markets keeping a high percentage of their flights.

While interesting, this may be short lived since I agree that more flying needs to be reduced. I’m sure WN has a game plan that factors in the Fed support program.

71% cuts doesn't make me swallow hard when load factors are <10% should cut more!

any fleet change on SW with this crisis?

Planespotters.net is showing WN has parked a far bigger fraction of 737-700s than -800s. Even after accounting for the MAX grounding they're parking the smaller planes at a higher rate.

https://www.planespotters.net/airline/S ... t-Airlines

UPDATE 04/05/2020

PAE - STORED

206
207
208
234
263
293
402
419
426
427
433
468
470
488
489
491
493
550
551
552
553
707
709
741
746
758
762
780
782
796
797
798
926
7706
7707
7708
7719
7750
7817
7824
7832
7838
7857
7859
7873
7874
7882

STORED - MISC

242- DAL
249- DAL
400- IND
442-HOU -SKED RTS 04/05
463-SAL
470- IND
475- MIA
560- IND
704- IND
737- IND
763- SAL
769- SAL
790- IND
918 (Illinois One) - IND
920- IND
921- SAL
933- MCI
948- DAL
7720- IND
7740- IND
7840- IND
7843- IND
7847-IND
7848- IND
7850- IND
7851- IND
7858- IND
7883- IND

IND, MIA, SAL, and DAL are all spots where heavy MX is conducted. Its likely these A/C are receiving heavy MX. As pictures have confirmed, planes in PAE are indeed stored.

MIflyer12 wrote:

Planespotters.net is showing WN has parked a far bigger fraction of 737-700s than -800s. Even after accounting for the MAX grounding they're parking the smaller planes at a higher rate.

https://www.planespotters.net/airline/S ... t-Airlines

I could see them doing this to avoid heavy MX checks by keeping the cycles down. Some may not even return to service.

That's a good insight. Generally - but not uniformly - it's the older -700s they've parked.

MIflyer12 wrote:

Planespotters.net is showing WN has parked a far bigger fraction of 737-700s than -800s. Even after accounting for the MAX grounding they're parking the smaller planes at a higher rate.

https://www.planespotters.net/airline/S ... t-Airlines

WN has not put any -800s into storage and they don’t have any immediate plans to do so.

Seems to be lots of questions and assumptions floating around out there about this so hopefully this will get it all cleared up. There are currently three locations being used for aircraft storage. IND, PAE, and VCV. Both IND and PAE have Heavy MX contractors, so not every aircraft on the ground at either place is in storage. VCV also has some retired AC that were never added to the thread. Here is a definitive list of all the AC currently listed as in storage. (Ignoring the grounded MAX, of course.)

VCV (55 737-700)
270WN
554WN
558WN
561WN
568WN
570WN
705SW
714CB (COLLEEN BARRETT CLASSIC)
715SW
716SW
717SA
719SW
726SW
728SW
743SW
745SW
765SW
768SW
770SA
771SA
773SA
774SW
775SW
776WN
777QC
778SW
779SW
783SW
784SW
786SW
787SA
788SA
789SW
791SW
793SA
794SW
795SW
7814B
7815L
7821L
7822A
7823A
7826B
7827A
7828A
7829B
7831B
7834A
7837A
7839A
7855A
7860A
7861J
7884G
7885A

PAE (36 737-700)
206WN
207WN
208WN
234WN
263WN
293WN
402WN
419WN
426WN
433LV
488WN
489WN
491WN
493WN
707SA
709SW
720WN
723SW
741SA
746SW
758SW
780SW
782SA
796SW
797MX
7719A
7750A
7817J
7824A
7832A
7838A
7857B
7859B
7873A
7874B
7882B

IND (15 737-700)
400WN
560WN
704SW
737JW
790SW
7720F
7740A
7840A
7843A
7847A
7848A
7850B
7851A
7858A
7883A

I'm sort of surprised that N700GS is still out there doing flights.

Jshank83 wrote:

I did find it interesting they added extra flights from some spokes to STL (ICT/DSM) for part of it. 3 instead of 2 a day in May. I guess they must be focusing some routes on certain places to connect. Maybe makes it easier to cancel flights later? If you only have 1 a day and passengers routed thru it then you don't have a backup flight. If you have 3 then you can just move them.

I noticed that MKE-TPA now has 3/day vs. 1/day, but I assume there were reductions in other MKE-Florida flights.

MIflyer12 wrote:

That's a good insight. Generally - but not uniformly - it's the older -700s they've parked.

How many Max's does WN have stored at VCV ?/ was it 34?

I agree with other posters once RTS is granted, those Max's WN already owns will return to service
and replace those older, recently stored 73G's on a one for one basis.

WN732 wrote:

I'm sort of surprised that N700GS is still out there doing flights.

As I understand it, the ones that have been parked were chosen because they're due expensive C or D checks soon. N700GS had a heavy check last summer (was in MIA for 5 or 6 weeks, so I think it was a D check, but I'm not sure.)

Sooner787 wrote:

MIflyer12 wrote:

That's a good insight. Generally - but not uniformly - it's the older -700s they've parked.

How many Max's does WN have stored at VCV ?/ was it 34?

I agree with other posters once RTS is granted, those Max's WN already owns will return to service
and replace those older, recently stored 73G's on a one for one basis.

Yes, there are 34 Max-8s in VCV.

It's hard to say what will happen with the stored AC after all this is over. The owned Max were already used to "replace" the Classics that were sent to the desert en masse when the Max first started arriving on property. The undelivered ones were earmarked for growth and to replace the 73Gs that were retired last year and earlier this year. If the recovery of air travel takes longer, I could see many of the older stored 73Gs stay in the desert. However if the recovery is fairly quick, they're likely to come back into service. Honestly it's too early in this mess for me to even hazard a guess.

Any talk about WN consolidating service in multi-airport metro areas? Places like ISP, IAD, PVD, MHT, PBI, and BUR could be at risk.

Hey all - just wanted to ask about a quick observation I've made via Flightradar24: a lot of WN's planes still flying throughout the system have split-scimitar winglets. Did WN prioritize flying its 737-700s with these winglets in the system, or is it merely coincidence? Does aircraft age play a factor? Thanks.

LotsaRunway wrote:

Any talk about WN consolidating service in multi-airport metro areas? Places like ISP, IAD, PVD, MHT, PBI, and BUR could be at risk.

No. WN will most likely going to try and keep each station open.
But sounds like because of more falling demand They will be cutting another 500 daily flights from April 15-June 1. This should bring them down to about 1549 flights is the latest estimate. With the additional cuts it's been estimated another 200 aircraft could be temporary parked at IND.

Prayers and hugs for everyone during this pandemic.
Flyguy

wnflyguy wrote:

LotsaRunway wrote:

Any talk about WN consolidating service in multi-airport metro areas? Places like ISP, IAD, PVD, MHT, PBI, and BUR could be at risk.

No. WN will most likely going to try and keep each station open.
But sounds like because of more falling demand They will be cutting another 500 daily flights from April 15-June 1. This should bring them down to about 1549 flights is the latest estimate. With the additional cuts it's been estimated another 200 aircraft could be temporary parked at IND.

Prayers and hugs for everyone during this pandemic.
Flyguy

Frankly, Southwest probably needs to be down to about 1000 flights a day. Tough time for every airlines. Seems like the more you cut, the longer you can sustain yourself. Right now it’s all about reducing cash burn while sustaining some service to not lose all market share.

Noticed WN pushed their next schedule extension back from April 23 to May 28. Probably a smart more to see how things play out. Next update includes Christmas.

Thought this was an interesting article on how Southwest is handling their network in May.

Southwest Moves Toward a Hub Model With May Schedule
https://crankyflier.com/2020/04/14/sout ... -schedule/

Jshank83 wrote:

Thought this was an interesting article on how Southwest is handling their network in May.

Southwest Moves Toward a Hub Model With May Schedule
https://crankyflier.com/2020/04/14/sout ... -schedule/

Just saw this morning news clip saying WN is cutting down another 650 daily flights on M,F and Sun and 900 daily on T,W,TH &Sa.
Ugh my thoughts go out to everyone at WN.
Flyguy

BigPlaneGuy13 wrote:

Hey all - just wanted to ask about a quick observation I've made via Flightradar24: a lot of WN's planes still flying throughout the system have split-scimitar winglets. Did WN prioritize flying its 737-700s with these winglets in the system, or is it merely coincidence? Does aircraft age play a factor? Thanks.

You install scimitars on younger A/C to maximize return on the investment, so it would make sense most of those are the A/C flying and not in storage.

737max8 wrote:

BigPlaneGuy13 wrote:

Hey all - just wanted to ask about a quick observation I've made via Flightradar24: a lot of WN's planes still flying throughout the system have split-scimitar winglets. Did WN prioritize flying its 737-700s with these winglets in the system, or is it merely coincidence? Does aircraft age play a factor? Thanks.

You install scimitars on younger A/C to maximize return on the investment, so it would make sense most of those are the A/C flying and not in storage.

UA has them on some pretty "old" 73NGs. Ive always thought there was a cutoff in the production numbers of what can be and what cant be retrofitted with the scimitars.

The "oldest" -700 in the SWA fleet with the Scimitars is N7855A. Was Delivered to China Eastern on January 13, 2005. The "oldest" original SWA -700 with split scimitars is N223WN, that plane was delivered to SWA on October 26,2005. I believe SWA ordered 210 sets of split scimitars a few years back, however I could be wrong on that.

Apparently WN is currently the world's largest carrier by ASMs during this pandemic. I'm sure more cuts are coming, but still interesting.

737max8 wrote:

Apparently WN is currently the world's largest carrier by ASMs during this pandemic. I'm sure more cuts are coming, but still interesting.

Another poster cited a source saying largest carrier by seats. Got a reference for ASMs?

MIflyer12 wrote:

737max8 wrote:

Apparently WN is currently the world's largest carrier by ASMs during this pandemic. I'm sure more cuts are coming, but still interesting.

Another poster cited a source saying largest carrier by seats. Got a reference for ASMs?

There was a thread for that, but it has disappeared. Why, I don't know.

smithbs wrote:

MIflyer12 wrote:

737max8 wrote:

Apparently WN is currently the world's largest carrier by ASMs during this pandemic. I'm sure more cuts are coming, but still interesting.

Another poster cited a source saying largest carrier by seats. Got a reference for ASMs?

There was a thread for that, but it has disappeared. Why, I don't know.

It probably angered the Deltoids

N272WN and N8612K are wrapped up and stored at MKE

pilotfox wrote:

N272WN and N8612K are wrapped up and stored at MKE

Any pictures of that?

Is anyone maintaining a list of locations and numbers of stored aircraft for WN?

Good signs coming from WN today:

Gary Kelly: "I think we've seen the bottom here in- in April. Each week after the first week of April has gotten successively better. I think May will be better than April was, and I don't think June will be a good month, but hopefully it will be a bit better than May. And then we're looking forward to July and August, and we'll just have to see. There are bookings in place. But those could easily be canceled. So it's really one day at a time."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript ... ay-3-2020/

Midwestindy wrote:

Good signs coming from WN today:

Gary Kelly: "I think we've seen the bottom here in- in April. Each week after the first week of April has gotten successively better. I think May will be better than April was, and I don't think June will be a good month, but hopefully it will be a bit better than May. And then we're looking forward to July and August, and we'll just have to see. There are bookings in place. But those could easily be canceled. So it's really one day at a time."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript ... ay-3-2020/

Very good interview. I have always liked Kelly. It's good news to hear that week by week things are getting better, again still no-where near good, but getting better. He is being honest with furloughs and layoffs. The reality is WN is not going to bring all the planes back that are parked, which means some employees wont be making it out. However I do believe WN is in a great position during these times and to make it out very strong.

UWPAviation wrote:

Midwestindy wrote:

Good signs coming from WN today:

Gary Kelly: "I think we've seen the bottom here in- in April. Each week after the first week of April has gotten successively better. I think May will be better than April was, and I don't think June will be a good month, but hopefully it will be a bit better than May. And then we're looking forward to July and August, and we'll just have to see. There are bookings in place. But those could easily be canceled. So it's really one day at a time."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript ... ay-3-2020/

Very good interview. I have always liked Kelly. It's good news to hear that week by week things are getting better, again still no-where near good, but getting better. He is being honest with furloughs and layoffs. The reality is WN is not going to bring all the planes back that are parked, which means some employees wont be making it out. However I do believe WN is in a great position during these times and to make it out very strong.

Kelly isn't bad, but we really miss Herb!

WN is restarting service to CUN, SJD, MBJ, HAV, and NAS on June 7. PVR is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 and the rest Oct. 30.

Flflyer83 wrote:

WN is restarting service to CUN, SJD, MBJ, HAV, and NAS on June 7. PVR is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 and the rest Oct. 30.

Would SJO be part of that October 30 start?

Flflyer83 wrote:

WN is restarting service to CUN, SJD, MBJ, HAV, and NAS on June 7. PVR is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 and the rest Oct. 30.

As in they actually plan to or just haven’t pulled it out of the schedule yet?

Jshank83 wrote:

Flflyer83 wrote:

WN is restarting service to CUN, SJD, MBJ, HAV, and NAS on June 7. PVR is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 and the rest Oct. 30.

As in they actually plan to or just haven’t pulled it out of the schedule yet?

Planned restart

There will be more slots available at SNA starting on January 1, 2021 since the limit on the number of average daily departures at SNA increases to 95 daily departures from 85 daily departures starting on January 1, 2021 and limit on the number of annual passengers at SNA increases to 11.8 million passengers per year from 10.8 million passengers per year starting in 2021.

There are also a few previously discontinued nonstop routes out of SNA that could be re-added by WN out of SNA once demand for air travel out of SNA returns such as SNA-AUS, SNA-MDW, SNA-DAL, and SNA-HOU.

WN will also likely be able to add a few more flights out of SNA in November 2020 and December 2020 without exceeding the limits on the number of annual passengers as SNA will likely be carrying fewer passengers than originally expected in 2020.

The upcoming WN schedule extension on May 28th will extend the WN flight schedule to January 4, 2021.

Is WN likely to take advantage of the additional slots that will become available at SNA starting on January 1, 2021? Is WN likely to re-add any previously dropped nonstop routes out of SNA such as SNA-AUS/MDW/DAL/HOU in its upcoming schedule extension?