Sky Talk

Southwest plane checks update

Southwest says that it completed safety checks on its fleet of 737-300s after a hole appeared in one of those planes on a flight from Nashville to Baltimore on Monday.

"There were no findings, so everything checked out on the aircraft," said Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis. "Our schedule is operating as normal today with no delays or cancellations."

The Dallas-based carrier has not determined why a football-sized hole ripped open in the cabin of a 737-300, causing the plane to lose cabin pressure and make an emergency landing in Charleston. There were no injuries to the 126 passengers and 5 crew members on board, McInnis said.

Passenger Brian Cunningham told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that he had dozed off in his seat in midcabin when he was awakened by "the loudest roar I'd ever heard."

He said the hole was above his seat. People stayed calm and put on the oxygen masks that dropped from the ceiling.

"After we landed in Charleston, the pilot came out and looked up through the hole, and everybody applauded, shook his hand, a couple of people gave him hugs," Cunningham said.

The plane underwent routine maintenance at a Southwest hangar in July. McInnis said she did not have all of the maintenance records for the plane.

Southwest had previously announced it was outsourcing some of its plane maintenance to a company in El Salvador, which has prompted some unions and consumer groups to question the quality and safety of airplane repair work done overseas.

This article contains material from the Associated Press.

-Andrea Ahles

Southwest plane makes emergency landing after hole appears in cabin

Southwest: June traffic down 2.1 percent

The Dallas-based carrier said it flew 6.7 billion revenue passenger miles last month, a decline of 2.1 percent in June traffic.

But since the carrier had fewer flights in its summer schedule, its planes were fuller in June.

Southwest reduced its capacity by 3.8 percent to 8.5 billion available seat miles in June so its load factor for the month was 79.5 percent, up from 78.2 percent from the same period last year.

-Andrea Ahles

48-hour Southwest fare sale

Calling it "one of the biggest fare sales in the company's history," Southwest launched an unusual airfare sale for fall travel.

The Dallas-based airline's sale is based on travel miles, offering customers one-way prices of $30, $60 and $90 depending on how far the flight goes. For flights up to 400 miles, the price is $30; between 400 and 750 miles, the cost is $60; and for more than 750 miles, the ticket is $90.

Customers must travel between Sept. 9 and Nov. 18 and weekend dates are blacked out. The sale also only lasts for the next two days.

Farecompare.com chief executive Rick Seaney said he expects major carriers to match Southwest's fare sale, even if it is for this short period of time.

"The meaning of this sale: it is one indication that airlines are by no means out of the woods yet - as oil prices remain volatile and demand precarious," Seaney said in his morning e-mail.

-Andrea Ahles

Southwest Airlines says pets can fly as carry-ons

Are you ready to be stuck in an airplane cabin with a lot of dogs and cats?

If you were flying Southwest Airlines, you didn't have that option. But the Dallas-based airline has decided to join other airlines in allowing small pets in cages aboard flights as carry-on luggage.

The airline does not allow pets to travel in its cargo bins so, other than service dogs, Southwest passengers with pets were out of luck until now.

The announcement was among several made by the Dallas-based airline this week.

New coffee on Southwest

Good news for caffeine-addicted travelers like myself: Southwest announced today that it's serving a new coffee onboard called "Lift." They describe it as "a rich, dark-roasted, 100-percent Arabica blend of South and Central American coffees." It will be served in new larger, eight-ounce eco-friendly paper cups instead of the old styrofoam cups. And, cream will be individual Coffee-Mates, instead of powdered cream.

The airline posted a video about the new coffee here.

- Trebor Banstetter

Southwest execs earned $5.3 million last year

Southwest has also filed its annual proxy statement with executive compensation figures. Here's our calculation of the total value of those packages:

• Gary Kelly, chief executive officer, $1.6 million
• Laura Wright, chief financial officer, $795,182
• Ron Ricks, executive vice president of corporate services, $1 million
• Michael Van de Ven, chief operating officer, $966,759
• Robert Jordan, executive vice president of strategy, $897,664

The total Southwest compensation package had an estimated value of about $5.3 million. Keep in mind that a portion of that comes from stock awards granted during 2008 that won't pay out until future years, so the ultimate value could vary widely depending on the performance of Southwest stock.

Southwest earned a profit of $179 million last year, and was the only large airline that was profitable.

- Trebor Banstetter

S&P puts Southwest on ratings watch

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has warned that it will consider lowering Southwest’s long-term corporate credit rating, citing the weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings outlook.

Southwest is the only large airline with an investment-grade credit rating. A reduction in the rating could make it more expensive for the airline to raise money and maintain its debt.

- Trebor Banstetter

Can Southwest avoid layoffs?

That's what analyst Jamie Baker of J.P. Morgan is wondering. Here's what he said in a note issued this morning:

Voluntary Early-out A Start, But How Practical In This Market? Southwest efficiency, defined by aircraft trips per day and employees per departure, continued to deteriorate in the quarter, begging the question as to how long Southwest's aversion to furloughs ought to last. Southwest did announce a voluntary early-out program with decisions required by June, as well as hiring and salary freeze for officers and senior management. While potentially a step in the right direction, we do not anticipate a deluge of takers given current domestic hiring alternatives.

- Trebor Banstetter

Southwest reports big loss, buyouts

Southwest Airlines CEO warned in January that the airline might have to downsize its work force if the economy continued to slide. Today, he announced plans to do just that, via voluntary buyouts that will be offered to nearly every employee at Southwest.

He made the announcement as Southwest reported losses of $91 million in the first quarter. Southwest's shares plunged on the news, and at the moment (9:30 a.m. CT) are trading down about 12 percent.

We've got a report on the earnings here at Star-Telegram.com. CEO Gary Kelly will speak to analysts and reporters on a conference call this morning, and we'll update the story and Sky Talk with what he has to say.

- Trebor Banstetter