Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is considering inter-island service as part of its Hawaiian expansion, but no final decisions have been made, CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday.
"Step one, of course, is getting from California to Hawaii," Kelly said in a conference call with investors and media. "(Inter-island service) has been down our priority list, but we will have serious consideration of that."
Even if low-cost carrier Southwest (NYSE: LUV) doesn"™t offer inter-island service initially, it will continuously re-evaluate it, Kelly said. No Federal Aviation Administration regulations or other factors prohibit Southwest from offering it, he said.
The carrier has built its business strategy on short-haul flights and quick turnaround times, and inter-island service lends itself to that business model.
On another topic, flights departing late at night and arriving early the next morning probably won"™t be included in the initial service from the mainland to Hawaii, but may be added later, Kelly also said in the conference call.
"We don"™t really desire to fly red-eyes right now," he said. "For our style of operation, it would complicate things. I"™m assuming at some point, we would want that capability"¦ Whether we feel strongly that there is a revenue benefit from having the red-eyes, I don"™t think we can judge that yet»…
