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I have held LUV since November of 1996. My only regret is not buying on the many dips since that time, especially in early 97. Bottom line - Mr. Kelleher knows how to make a buck and his strategy of establishing a foothold in major cities by setting up at secondary airports like BWI, Providence, Islip, Raleigh, etc is so simple yet noone else seems to be able to make it work. I am a frequent flier, especially on the East coast, and the consistently full or near capacity flights for Southwest continue to amaze me. Definitely no frills and seating policy can sometimes be annoying (especially when running late for a flight) but can't beat the price and the fact that they are virtually always on time. If on business, especially short hauls, give me reliability any day over a bad sandwich and a two hour delay. For personal travel can't beat the price and mileage program through internet is second to none. Valuation is high for an airline, but what other airline continues to improve profits and has demonstated a consistent track record of cost containment? Can't wait to see their next target. Speaking from experience, Buffalo, Richmond and Charlotte are ripe for the taking as US Air is holding these consumers hostage right now. Another trend - bad news for most airlines in the form of increased fuel costs, price wars, international turmoil, etc is good news for LUV since they have a cost control model that works, fares are already low (other airlines hate 'em!) and only fly in consistent domestic market. |
