Southwest Airlines will reduce service and staffing in Atlanta to cut costs

Southwest Airlines has announced a significant reduction in its operations at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), which will involve scaling down the number of operational gates from 18 to 11. This strategic decision, aimed at cutting costs and enhancing profit margins, is set to take effect in April 2025 . The airline's move has been characterized as a retreat from a critical market, particularly given that it acquired access to ATL through its purchase of AirTran. This shift raises concerns regarding the airline's competitive positioning against major players like Delta Air Lines, which commands a substantial market share at ATL .

The changes come a day before Southwest’s investor day, when executives will map out the company’s plan to cut costs and grow revenue as pressure mounts from activist investor Elliott Investment Management.

Atlanta. Instead, it will reduce staffing by as many as 200 flight attendants and as many as 140 pilots, for the April 2025 bid month.

The airline also isn’t laying the crews off, but they will likely have to bid to work from other cities.

A Southwest official said Wednesday the airline needs to cut unprofitable routes, and “demand for Atlanta doesn’t support our level of flying.”

While the airline’s planners “try everything they can before making hard decisions like this one, we have to make this change to help drive us back to profitability,” the Atlanta-based official, Tiffany Laurent, said in a memo to employees.

Shares of Dallas-based Southwest fell 4.6%.

Chicago. The carrier has said it expanded too much in 2023, and more recently has been hit by a glut of seats across the industry that held down fares and kept airlines from taking full advantage of record summer demand.

Also on Wednesday, Southwest released an expanded schedule, selling tickets through June 4. In addition to the planned cuts in Atlanta, the carrier said it will boost service to and from Nashville, Tennessee. It will also start offering overnight flights from Hawaii, beginning April 8. Those include service from Honolulu to Las Vegas and Phoenix; Kona, Hawaii, to Las Vegas; and Maui, Hawaii, to Las Vegas and Phoenix.

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Sarah H

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