AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - Gary Kelly prefers Delta first class

Looks like the Southwest CEO prefers to take Delta over connecting on his own airline(s).

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/02/yes-that-was-gary-kelly-sittin.html

I think it also speaks volumes that he prefers a first class seat rather than a comparable SWA coach cabin equivalent. I'm not blaming him (who could) but obviously when he can fly other airlines he flies in the forward cabin. Better perks I'm sure than having an A-list status on SWA.

I think it also speaks volumes that he prefers a first class seat rather than a comparable SWA coach cabin equivalent.

Except Delta coach IS NOT comparabel to SW seats. :)

Except Delta coach IS NOT comparabel to SW seats. :)

Enjoying WN's IFE on long flights, then?

DL coach also is arguably preferable to *new* SW seating, if early reviews are any indication:

I'm sitting on one as I type this, WN935 I believe, Nashville to Phoenix. Less leg room for me, now I usually sit @ 9F and I'm in 10d. There's actually 1 more row before the exit row on this flight. The headrests are a mixed bag; They are high enough so that they don't hit me in the shoulders, but not a lot of side bolster. Overall I liked the additional legroom with the old interior. Also doesn't feel like they recline as much(don't remember if southwest addressed this in their announcement). Oh, and forget shoving a bottle of water in the new seat pockets, my iPad barely fit.

BTW. I'm 6'3" and 300+ lbs so any seat is small to me.....But this is not a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned.

Enjoying WN's IFE on long flights, then?



I enjoy First Class on other airlines when I travel them instead of my employer. ;)

I enjoy First Class on other airlines when I travel them instead of my employer. ;)

And many enjoy IFE in Y on long flights.

I enjoy First Class on other airlines when I travel them instead of my employer. ;)

Shena! :D

I think it also speaks volumes that he prefers a first class seat rather than a comparable SWA coach cabin equivalent. I'm not blaming him (who could) but obviously when he can fly other airlines he flies in the forward cabin. Better perks I'm sure than having an A-list status on SWA.

It must speak volumes then about every airline CEO.

Is Herb Kelleher a traitor because he is (was) an Exec Plat with AA?

Majority of airlines have with some other airline NRPS travel when going on business. Some even have NRPS in premium cabins. I have not only taken advantage of these agreements but I also reciprocate when asked by an employee of a competitor for such a favor. I doubt anyone would label me a traitor and I also doubt if this was 2015 and there was an ATL-DAL flight around the same hour he would fly DL.

Is Herb Kelleher a traitor because he is (was) an Exec Plat with AA?

I'd like to think that was more than folklore.

I'd like to think that was more than folklore.

Not by earning but with a term pass. Probably a ID50/75 NRPS one at that.

The only reason this whole thing has showed up around the web is because people who dont work for the airlines think its some kind of treasonous act...

A good CEO should be flying the competition and flying them often, just as the CEO of GM should rent a Ford and the brass at Microsoft should sit down in front of a Mac from time to time. If you aren't keeping tabs on your competitors you aren't doing your job.

If you aren't keeping tabs on your competitors you aren't doing your job.

True. But I kinda think he was trying to get home asap. There are better times to sample the competition than coming home from festivities marking the opening of Southwest's Atlanta station in preference of the behemoth carrier he's expecting..hoping..his own client base will avoid.

Nothing to see here. Airline employees fly on competitors all the time. They all have deals with each other. In the brief time I worked for US, I flew on UA, AA, AS, QX, WN, NW, and KL. Nothing to feel "disloyal" about since employees don't pay for tickets on their airline anyway.

True. But I kinda think he was trying to get home asap. There are better times to sample the competition than coming home from festivities marking the opening of Southwest's Atlanta station in preference of the behemoth carrier he's expecting..hoping..his own client base will avoid.

This would be a case of "pride" over "common sense"

If the last SWA to DAL via AUS leaves @ 1800 is the person supposed to spend the night and wait till the next day to travel? Honestly I see this as a non-issue.

If he flew AA we'd be talking about how hes feeding a bankrupt carrier that restricted SWAs hands for decades...cant win in these situations.

I think it's much ado about nothing.If you fully read the article you'll see why he flew DL.As PA42 and others stated, this is common in the airline industry.
Not knocking Gary Kelly, but don't think I'd compare him to Herb.
Herb is the real deal and a legend for good reason.Not a thing wrong with trying to make it home late night back to DFW.Herb was known for AA travel when he needed to, and he actually was on a speaking basis with Bob "Fang"Crandall.
A lot of us who enjoyed Airtran fares, service, BC,are not happy with the WN changes and Gary K. etc. at WN "are" to blame, hence the severity of the criticism.

Nothing crazy horrible about this, just funny that he is coming home from the launch of what is arguably one of there biggest goals as a company in years, and he has to fly home on the competition because he can not get a direct flight home.

Nothing crazy horrible about this, just funny that he is coming home from the launch of what is arguably one of there biggest goals as a company in years, and he has to fly home on the competition because he can not get a direct flight home.


Exactly - the reason he gave for flying Delta was not *to check out the competition*. It was *so I could get home faster*. Shouldn't he be showing how the company he just got done promoting will get him home faster?

It really doesn't matter if he paid for the ticket or not, it's the reason he flew Delta.

Exactly - the reason he gave for flying Delta was not *to check out the competition*. It was *so I could get home faster*. Shouldn't he be showing how the company he just got done promoting will get him home faster?


No offense but this is unrealistic. The only reason FL or WN cannot fly this route is a law chiefly supported by AA and corrupt politicians.

If there was a nonstop WN flight around the same time, hell even if there was a connecting WN flight around the same time maybe there would be some valid grievance...but there wasnt, nothing even close to it.

This is the case when flying from any non-Wright city to DAL no matter if its ATL, MCO, DEN or PHX.

The only unfair thing here is the US Congress, AA and the city of Dallas and Ft. Worth still upholding such archaic protectionist crap 40 years down the road.

There's no grievance, just irony. All GK customers fly coach. And get zone C for not checking in at the 23:59 mark.

I understood Southwest filed suit to remain at Love Field.

Could be wrong.

There's no grievance, just irony. All GK customers fly coach. And get zone C for not checking in at the 23:59 mark.

I understood Southwest filed suit to remain at Love Field.

Could be wrong.

Ill agree with that. Plenty of that kind of blame to go around to just about the majority of people in the US. Say one thing but vote another way with their wallets.

I understood Southwest filed suit to remain at Love Field.


Indeed, because the government should never be allowed to force anyone into a specific airport if there are no plans to close down the previous airport.

The government should never be able to chose winners and losers in a market.

Wright goes away in 2014????

Still going to be limited after 2014. Part of the repeal agreement is the fact that there will be no Commercial FIS facilities @ DAL.

Although he wasn't on his own airline, Kelly can take some enjoyment is that he probably displaced a Delta frequent-flier using an upgrade or, even better, a full-fare passenger who would have paid a first-class fare of nearly $1,200 one way.

My favorite quote. I wonder how many one-way $1,200 fares SW will sell DFW-ATL when they are flying it again.

My favorite quote. I wonder how many one-way $1,200 fares SW will sell DFW-ATL when they are flying it again.

SW is barred from flying DFW-ATL due to cabotage.

I assume WN will sell 0 $1,200 fares from DFW-ATL, if they keep service at DFW. I am not sure what the point of that comment is, as WN has no F cabin. I also don't get the original quote, as I would bet big that he didn't displace somebody who would pay that. Actually, chances are quite good he displaced nobody, unless he bought a revenue ticket, which I also doubt.

SW is barred from flying DFW-ATL due to cabotage.

?? Could you explain?

Or do you mean DAL-ATL due to legislation.

SW is Air Namibia. Since they are in Africa, they can't fly USA-USA.
WN is Southwest.

The same legislation that stops WN from flying from DAL-ATL also means they can't fly DFW-ATL, which is why that FL route stopped. They will eventually, but I was mostly pointing out a pointless post with errors.

SW is barred from flying DFW-ATL due to cabotage.

This is completely incorrect. Cabotage rights have nothing to do with WN not flying DFW-ATL. If WN wanted to they could fly it tomorrow, they would just have to relinquish gate for gate @ DAL.

This is completely incorrect. Cabotage rights have nothing to do with WN not flying DFW-ATL. If WN wanted to they could fly it tomorrow, they would just have to relinquish gate for gate @ DAL.

I didn't say anything about WN and cabotage. I said that about SW, since SW is the IATA code for Air Namibia.

Yes I know that, however you said that the same legislation that stops WN from flying DAL-ATL is preventing them from flying DFW-ATL. Just making a point that while DAL-ATL is outlawed on mainline with standard config no airline including WN is barred from running DFW-ATL if they chose to do so. In fact if they wanted to and it wasnt a question of pride/competition @ DAL they could run DFW-ATL next week. Semantics I guess :)

I didn't say anything about WN and cabotage. I said that about SW, since SW is the IATA code for Air Namibia.

Semantics I guess :)

Or someone being a smartypants. Gwar69, you must be a blast at parties with your IATA knowledge. :rolleyes: Given that we're in the AirTran forum (which some also abbreviate as AT, rather than FL), it's safe to assume that one is referring to Southwest Airlines when they use the abbreviation SW instead of WN. This should have been particularly clear since the discussion was about DFW. When AirTran, Southwest and Air Nambia become direct competitors, THEN we'll need more clarification. :cool:

This is completely incorrect. Cabotage rights have nothing to do with WN not flying DFW-ATL. If WN wanted to they could fly it tomorrow, they would just have to relinquish gate for gate @ DAL.

WN could even fly DAL-ATL tomorrow if they pulled some seats from a few of their 737s and dedicated them to that route.

Richard Branson flies direct on other carriers when there is no direct VX route, why can't Gary Kelly. I'm no CEO but I prefer Delta first to SWA Y, only fly Southwest if it it has a significant time or price advantage.

I'm honestly quite surprised Gary Kelly just doesn't get his own jet.

Richard Branson flies direct on other carriers when there is no direct VX route, why can't Gary Kelly. I'm no CEO but I prefer Delta first to SWA Y, only fly Southwest if it it has a significant time or price advantage.

I'm honestly quite surprised Gary Kelly just doesn't get his own jet.

Gary from what I've read loves to press the flesh with the WN staff regardless. But if timing doesn't allow we and Sir Richard will probably agree, all have to book on less than desired routing at whatever seat is available.

Id probably wager that Bransons got NRPS-J, be surprising if he booked NRSA-Y

What was the final verdict on the new WN seats?

I was on FL 14 earlier this week and was drawn into a discussion with the FA concerning the new seats. I mentioned to the FA that FL had 18"/31" width/pitch and WN had 17"/32" as per seat guru. Got a really strange look.

So will the new width be 17" or 18"?

Also, the FA said that the new seats will be lower. To me, it seems that the g-rating relies on the underseat struts/cross members to dissipate the compressive forces caused by excess g-load. If you lower the seats, the struts get shorter(?) and g-rating is reduced? WN is supposed to be reusing the old seat frames. I think that this means 17" width. Can the seat be lowered in an existing frame? I have never seen a disassembled frame so I might be missing something.

PS Will the new seats be upholstered in Naugahyde?