Monthly Archives: July 2007

Prowling Around the Virgin Site

Just finished all I am capable of writing for PBB tonight and thought I’d wander over and explore the Virgin site.

I like it.

Very easy and intuitive to use when making a reservation — and the first class seats look pretty cool. Especially at $389 RT for New York/SFO. (That’s before taxes, etc.)

I may have to check out one of their trans-cons when my usual August hiatus rolls around.

PlaneBusiness Banter Posting Tomorrow

Home-Typewriter Copy-1-42Okay folks. Between calls from well-wishers, friends I haven’t seen in years, the florist, my brother, my father, and news organizations seeking more information about PlaneMom (she was somewhat of an arts and cultural icon in these parts), I’m already behind our usual Thursday schedule for PlaneBusiness Banter today. (The memorial service for PlaneMom is next Saturday, July 28, so yours truly is getting into the “crunch time” on all of this. Ahem.)

So — PBB subscribersPBB will be posted on Friday this week.

More later.

Herb to Retire Next Year

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Hot off the presses.

“The Board of Directors of Southwest Airlines today announced details of its new employment contracts with Executive Chairman Herb Kelleher, President and Corporate Secretary Colleen Barrett, and Vice Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly.

    — Herb Kelleher, 76, will continue as Executive Chairman of the Board for

      one year and will step down from that position at the Company’s 2008

      Annual Meeting of Shareholders.  Kelleher is a Founder of Southwest

      Airlines and has served as Executive Chairman since 1978.  From 1981

      through June 2001, Kelleher also served as President and CEO of

      Southwest Airlines.

 

— Colleen Barrett, 62, will continue as President for one year and will

      step down from that position on July 15, 2008.  Barrett has served as

      Secretary of the Corporation since 1978; Vice President Administration

      from 1986 to 1990; Executive Vice President Customers from 1990 to

      2001; and President since 2001.

— Gary Kelly, 52, will remain as CEO with a contract expiration date of

      February 1, 2011.  Kelly began his career at Southwest Airlines as

      Controller in 1986; was named Vice President Finance and CFO in 1989;

      Executive Vice President and CFO in 2001; and CEO and Vice Chairman in

      July 2004.

 

After relinquishing their current management and Board positions in 2008,

Kelleher and Barrett will remain for five years as Employees of the airline

they nurtured from the very beginning, working fulltime at the Company’s

Dallas headquarters.

    “After 41 years as an Officer and Director of Southwest Airlines, I will

be resigning from those positions as of our Shareholders’ meeting in May

2008,” Kelleher said.  “Why?  Because our organizational transition that began

in 2001 will then be complete and because I have unalloyed respect for, and

confidence in, our CEO Gary Kelly and his superb cadre of Southwest Officers.

Southwest’s future is bright — and so are they!

    “The People of Southwest have always been my pride, my joy, and my love.

Their indomitable dedication and esprit de corps have taken Southwest from a

three-airplane dream to a 500-airplane reality.  I am grateful that I will

continue to have the opportunity to work with our People and to bask in their

good humor and excellence for many years to come,” he said.

    Barrett said, “Though I will be resigning as Corporate Secretary and a

Board Member as of our May 2008 Annual Shareholders’ meeting and from my

management position (i.e., President) as of July 15, 2008, I am delighted that

I will still be able to practice/follow my Customer Service passion and

continue the work that I absolutely LUV:  serving the Internal and External

Customers of Southwest Airlines.  Southwest is characterized by the high

spirits of its Employees and its industry leading Customer Satisfaction

record.  The ‘business of business’ is ultimately about People, and I am very

proud of the fact that Southwest’s humanistic focus has served as a luminous

beacon in this respect.

Colleen Barrett

    “I have been very blessed over the last 40 years of my career — blessed to work with — and for-the most caring, most altruistic, and most giving People that anyone has ever been fortunate enough to meet.  Those years have been a true ‘Labor of LUV.’  My heart tells me it is time to allow the next generation of SWA Leaders their day to lead.  I have always thought that one of the best traits of a Leader is to know when to follow.  And, I am looking forward to following the example set by this new Leadership generation and to continuing ‘to live the Southwest Way’ for several more years,” she said.

    Kelly said both Kelleher and Barrett have helped make Southwest Airlines

one of the most studied corporate success stories in the history of American

business.

    “I, along with all of our 33,000 Southwest Employees, will be forever

grateful for Herb’s visionary Leadership and gritty entrepreneurship,” Kelly

said. “Corporate America knows that Colleen is the force behind our cherished

family culture and enviable Customer Service record.”

    “I know every Employee joins me in promising Herb our continued dedication

to the cause he loves — giving Americans the Freedom to Fly and providing job

security and a great place to work for our Employees,” he said.  “I am

grateful to both of them for their friendship, mentorship, and commitment to

the future success of Southwest Airlines.  We are all fortunate to continue to

have them as an important part of our Southwest Family.”

Ticker: (NYSE:LUV)

Mad Scramble for Virgin Tickets Swamps Airline Website

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Tickets for Virgin America’s first flights went on sale today on the airline’s website. But good luck getting on the site.

Or, if you are lucky enough to get into the site, good luck with completing the buying process. We’re hearing that if you pick a flight and get to the seat selection stage, then the site crashes.

Seems the airline’s website is a bit overloaded this morning.

Also, as one observer on one of our airline geek lists noted, there is an interesting notice on the airline’s “News” page.

“Notice about booking tickets on Virgin America

Virgin America does not currently have authority from the Department of Transportation to operate the services for which your ticket is being issued. You may, upon request, cancel your ticket and obtain a full refund at any time before we start operations. If we have not started operations by the date of your ticketed travel, we will make reasonable efforts to arrange substitute air transportation for you, at a cost of up to 200% of your Virgin America ticket. If we cannot arrange substitute transportation for you, we will refund to you 200% of the price paid for your Virgin America ticket.”

What is this all about? Minimal funding requirements of the DOT. Obviously the airline has not finished the task of getting their initial funding fully compliant with DOT regs.

Given the estimated cash burn of the airline — while it sat grounded waiting for official DOT approval but continued to take delivery of aircraft — I would say that those behind the initial funding for the airline will want to see an IPO attempt sooner than later.

Initial schedule, as posted on the website, is as follows:

SFO-LAX starts August 8

SFO-JFK starts August 8

LAX-JFK starts August 29

SFO-IAD starts September 26

SFO-LAS starts October 10

LAX-IAD starts October 24

Just saw some pictures from the interior of the new planes yesterday. No question. They look sleek, sexy, and pretty high tech.