Southwest Airlines cuts 2 transcontinental flights from Atlanta

The writing was on the wall, but now it’s official: Southwest Airlines is making more adjustments to its network, with a focus on Atlanta.

The Dallas-based carrier filed plans this weekend to exit two transcontinental routes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), as first seen in Cirium schedules and confirmed more late by the carrier’s spokesman, Dan Landson.

The affected routes are from ATL to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) to the San Francisco Bay Area.

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The airline had initially planned to stop flights to these markets in winter, but that date was pushed back to August.

Note that even though Southwest is dropping these nonstop flights, the airline will still offer one-stop service from Atlanta to Oakland and Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, the airline announced it was removing four cities from its route map and reducing two others: Atlanta and Chicago.

At the time, Southwest didn’t specify what cuts it would make in Atlanta, but now we’re starting to get a sense of what’s about to be cut.

The longer leg length of transcontinental flights makes it more difficult for Southwest to make a profit on these approximately 2,000-mile nonstop routes, which likely contributes to the decision to abandon this service.

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Southwest has so far blamed many of its recent cuts on delivery delays at Boeing, but the airline appears to be experiencing structural difficulties.

The carrier, which has made a profit for 47 consecutive years, has lost its momentum, some investors say. (Just this week, Elliott Investment Management confirmed a $1.9 billion investment in Southwest, but said the airline has faced poor execution and leadership in recent years.)

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This poor performance is even leading Southwest to rethink many of its unique value propositions, such as an open boarding policy and two free checked bags.

In an April statement, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said that “to improve our financial performance, we have increased our network optimization efforts to address underperforming markets. …I want to sincerely thank our employees, airports and communities for all their efforts. incredible support over the years. »

Southwest began serving Atlanta in 2012 as part of its merger with Atlanta-based AirTran Airways. The airline has since transformed the city into a de facto hub with around 90 daily departures, according to Cirium schedules.

Without Southwest service, local airline Delta Air Lines will enjoy a monopoly on nonstop flying to Oakland. Service between Atlanta and Los Angeles is more competitive, with flights operated by Delta, American Airlines and Spirit Airlines.

This is just the latest adjustment to Southwest’s network. Last month, the airline added seven new routes but removed four others.

For its part, Southwest declined to comment specifically on its most recent transcontinental reductions.

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