"I Made A Fool Of Myself Over John Foster Dulles"

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"I Made A Fool Of Myself Over John Foster Dulles"

Fri, 04/21/2006 - 12:00 — Bill Owen

Those of us who are older than dirt (like me) and are fans of Carol Burnett (and who isn't?) will recognize this as the title of a ditty performed by a very young Miss Burnett on the Jack Paar Show in 1957. The erstwhile Secretary of State is also the namesake of Dulles International Airport in Virginia, which will become Southwest's newest destination airport later this year.

Southwest is always looking for opportunities to provide our Positively Outrageous Service to an ever-growing slice of the American "pie," and adding Dulles to our "bakery case" is the right move at the right time. For years, Dulles was primarily the Washington/Baltimore area's longhaul and international airport. However, over the past decade as the population of Northern Virginia has virtually exploded, Dulles has added more and more short- to medium-haul service. The area is home to many large corporations, such as Nextel Communications, Inc. America Online Inc., MCI, and Oracle Corp, which has helped to fuel the surge in traffic at the facility.

Architecture buffs–of which I'm one–will also appreciate Dulles International as one of the premier works of the famous Finnish architect, Eero Saarinen. The soaring and spacious terminal design was meant to evoke the feeling of flight. The incredibly beautiful glass-and-concrete facility will be a wonderful addition to the ever-growing flock of Southwest destinations!

Adding a new destination is always an interesting exercise for my workgroup, the Schedule Planning Department. We are always on the lookout for airports that are either under-served and over-priced. Dulles will be a terrific compliment to our large operation at the Baltimore/Washington airport, 45 miles to the northeast of Dulles.

We'll announce destinations, schedules, and fares from Dulles this summer, so stay tuned. Otherwise–welcome to the new Southwest blog, and have an AWESOME day.

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Comments

Since you mentioned him here (and mentioned that you're an architectural buff), I've always been curious - do you know if St. Louis' Lambert Field is also a Saarinen creation, or was it just designed to look like it? That airport (where my family lives) and Chicago Midway (where I live) are the two main airports I use as a SWA customer; I've just always been curious about the design origins of the one in St. Louis. I'm so happy you all started a blog!

Jason Pettus — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 14:01

Sorry, no comment about Dulles, but two other questions....

Why Denver over Colorado Springs? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but having done both
airports, I know PacWest left a bunch of open gates at COS, and I suggest the landing fees
there are slightly(!) lower than DEN. Curiosity, of course.

Why Denver with no service to our home state of Texas? Just for giggles, last time I passed
through DEN, I asked a gate agent there, and they tried to point me to the Wright Amendment
site. Sorry, but I could give a crap about the entire DFW metroplex (I'm a native Houstonian now
transplanted to the Big Bend), WN also goes to ELP, MAF, LBB, AUS, AMA, SAT, HOU, and HRL in
Texas. Why not fly someplace other than DAL in Texas from DEN?

Been flying WN on and off for last 25 years, glad to see ya'll jump out into the blogging field!

Ron M. — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 14:01

Hi Jason,
Actually, the terminal building at Lambert in St. Louis was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in 1956. For more information on the history of St. Louis' airport go to http://www.lambert-stlouis.com/index/about_History.html.

Brian Lusk — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 14:12

I think Dulles is a great market for Southwest to get into. Though you have quite a following at BWI, it is a huge hassle to get
there from Northern Virginia with the DC-area traffic.

How much does Independence Air's liquidation affect Southwest's Dulles plans? Would Southwest have come to Dulles had
FLYi been successful? Did Southwest want to jump in there before another carrier filled the market void FLYi left? Seems like a
smart idea to me.

Matt — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 15:33

Good move going into IAD- this market should do well as the business travel is hot in this area. I am happy to see Southwest move into markets dominated by the "hub and spoke" airlines. The fares charged by these carriers where they have a monopoly equates to nothing less than extortion. Opening IAD provides two benefits- fare relief for travelers and a market with above average margin potential. Best wishes!

Brandon Dotson — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 16:57

Hi, Ron!

You're right, we want to connect Denver to Texas. Heck, we want to connect Denver to a LOT of places. We're just getting started there, and our thoughts for our intial entry were to connect it with our three largest Stations--La$ Vega$, Phoenix, and Chicago/Midway. But we hope we're not done yet in Denver. We think we can continue to grow there. Be on the lookout for more new service announcements!

As far as choosing Denver over Colorado Springs, the good folks at DIA have steadily lowered their cost per enplanement over the past few years, and their costs got low enough to be in the competitive range. Because Denver is *so* much larger than the Springs is in terms of air traffic, we elected to have our initial re-entry point in Colorado be Denver. That's not to shut the door on Colorado Springs forever--it's a growing area with a great economy. But it's still a fraction of the size of metro Denver/Boulder. After it grows larger, and after we're pretty well tapped out in Denver, you could see Southwest at both airports. Wouldn't that be a Rocky Mountain High?!!

Thanks for your reply...thanks for reading our new blog...and thanks for flying with us!

Bill Owen/Schedule Planning — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 18:33

Hey Bill,
Are you going to grow Kansas City with a flight or two Denver? Okay, now I'm being greedy but how about another non-stop from Sacramento to/from Kansas City? Thanks!

Travis — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 18:43

How does one get in the airline schedule planning industry?

Kyle — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 19:07

But what about us folks in CLT? USAirways has "extorted" us for years. I know that some of the main problems with the CLT airport
is the parking and runway congestion as well as lack of gates. Why don't you guys go to GSP? It's only 75 road miles from CLT and
I know lots of people who already drive to GSO or RDU for a reasonably priced flight. Plus, GSP has Michelin and BMW very nearby.

Barkley Hendrix — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 19:34

Bill-how are ya?

Hey-I agree! Dulles rocks-the architecture was very much ahead of its time and was ridiculed by lots of people when it opened.

And boy !Those legislators are probably salivating now over the possibility of Wright repeal.

Something for your gee whiz file-from somebody even older than you:

When I was little-back in the ealry fifties-we lived in DC-my mother was John Foster Dulles' secretary at the State Department!

Peggy Legrande — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 19:51

Schedule planning is the field I've always found fascinating in the airline industry. I've been collecting airline timetables since I was 12 (37 years!). Unfortunately, they are no longer as readily available.

What I also like are routing sheets for individual aircraft. Over the years I was able to get a few from United, Hughes AirWest, and ATA. It's fascinating to see how many different cities an individual aircraft will go to during the course of a week.

David Ross — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 20:09

Welcome to the blog, Matt!

I'd be lying if I said FlyI's demise didn't pique our interest in Dulles, but honestly their operation was much more of a connecting, hug-and-spoke one. Ours will be tailored to the local market--as all of our operations are. Look for our service and fare announcement in the not-too-distant future!

Bill Owen/Schedule Planning — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 20:13

Kyle,

Getting into Schedule Planning varies from airline to airline. At Southwest, in keeping with our grow-it-inhouse Culture, we always look to existing Southwest Employees to see if we can find someone with the right educational and job-fit credentials. We look for someone with a 4-year degree, but the actual discipline is relatively unimportant (we have degrees in our department in Journalism, Engineering, Aviation Management, Business, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Psychology, to name a few). Equally important is the job fit--if you like doing heavy-duty analysis, have a somewhat linear mindset, and are an airline "geek" (trust me, it's a term if endearment!), you're likely a good fit for Schedule Planning at Southwest.

Good luck...and thanks for reading Nuts About Southwest!

Bill Owen/Schedule Planning — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 20:20

Good afternoon, Barkley!

The good folks in and near Charlotte--and in South Carolina--shoudn't count Southwest out. We will continue to grow. Trust me! WE've looked at Charlotte, as well as a number of airports in the Palmetto State. They just haven't risen to the top of the heap yet. At the risk of being self-serving (who, me???), it might be worth a 2 1/2 hour drive up the interstate to Raleigh/Durham for the time being to catch Southwest. Currently the walk-up one way fare on the "other guys" from CLT to Los Angeles is $970, while on Southwest out of RDU it's only $329.60--and with discounts and advance purchase, it goes WAY down from there.

So, we'll either ask for your patience until we get to CLT or GSP--or welcome you aboard one of our LUVjets at RDU. Thanks for the reply!

Bill Owen/Schedule Planning — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 20:25

"We are always on the lookout for airports that are either under-served and over-priced."

Check out MSP... flying out of here isn't cheap!

aviationwiz — Thu, 04/27/2006 - 23:42

"Architecture buffsÃ

Tim — Fri, 04/28/2006 - 14:47

Recently flew from Tucson to Raleigh-Durham in order to visit family in Richmond, VA area. By far the best fare I was able to get on the route was with ........... American!!! I mean, you folks at Southwest wren't even close. That said, I have flown Southwest on a number of occasions in the past
and will no doubt do so in the future, if I can get my wife to set aside her phobia over the lack of assigned seating, something I've never had
a problem with.

On the subject of destinations, when, oh when, are you going to consider Syracuse? There are several gates in the South Concourse, formerly used
by US, that need only seating and new jetways to make them operational once again. Syracuse has by far the state's best economy north of NYC.
There is good O/D traffic there, as well as the presence of a number of major educational institutions and a rapidly growing Army post at nearby Fort
Drum. The airport is located so that it can be easily reached by our Canadian friends in cities such as Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario.

Tucson Dave — Fri, 04/28/2006 - 18:21

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is a Saarinen product. Speaking of under-served and overpriced airports, Springfield, Missouri desperately needs Southwest! I usually have to drive 3 hours to either St. Louis, Tulsa, or Kansas City to get a decent fare.
Please help Southwest!

Gabe McMillan — Fri, 04/28/2006 - 20:18

Recently I flew from Burbank,CA to San Francisco,CA. Unfortunatly I had to go United because Southwest flies into Oakland
instead of San Francisco. Southwest should offer Burbank to San Francisco service. It would also be nice if Southwest would add non-stop service from Burbank to Seattle and Chicago Midway.

Will Rubens — Sat, 04/29/2006 - 07:08

I think Dullas will make a great addition to Southwest with the population explosion of Northern Virgina. I have alway been
interested in Dullas since the first time I flew from there to Houston in the 70s. Back then, you boarded a mobile lounge that took you across the airport to the aircraft parking ramp. (no planes parked at the terminal). It was on that trip that I caught my first glimpse
of the Concord.

I'm excited about our vinture into Dullas and hope we get flights from BNA

Kelly Warrell — Sat, 04/29/2006 - 10:30

Would LUV to see IAD to SDF and on to DIA.

David — Sun, 04/30/2006 - 13:50

Will, Southwest did serve San Francisco unitl 2001. However, the major weather delays and high costs at the airport caused Southwest to build up its presence at the less congested Oakland until the point that San Francisco wasn't necessary.

If you absolutely must have low fares from SFO to BUR, give Richard Branson a call so he could think about it for Virgin America. Until then, just take Herb's boys to Oakland and take BART into San Francisco. You'll save yourself quite a bit of time and money compared to the Not-So-Friendly Skies of United.

Zachary McConnell — Sun, 04/30/2006 - 14:03

Hi Bill, I'll chime in for more non stops from DTW. Maybe after the new terminal is done?
Phx makes us jealous. Non stops to PHL or BWI would open up the east coast. Probably PHX to LAS every half hour would be good to!

Joe Friedmann — Sun, 04/30/2006 - 19:22

Zachary,

Thank you for your info about Virgin America. I plan on giving your service a try from Bur to OAK.
Hopefully the Bart ride won't be longer than from SFO. Fling into SFO is better than OAK. Would
you have Richard Bransons phone number at Virgin America. I wonder if Virgin America will fly our of BUR
or just LAX? Southwest should expand the cities it serves from BUR. Southwest serve the east coast
and midwest from BUR.

Will Rubens — Sun, 04/30/2006 - 22:47

will mci to den ever happen!!!!!!!!

flygirl — Tue, 05/02/2006 - 06:20

Hey, why can't we get Southwest at XNA Northwest Arkansas Regional? We have to drive 2 hrs to Tulsa to fly your great airline! Help!!

Pam — Mon, 07/14/2008 - 14:05

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