Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) may be considering an additional acquisition just eight months after it successfully completed its take over of AirTran Airways (Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson). Industry sources who spoke to the Chicago Business Journal have indicated the move could occur in the not too distant future.
"Many of us are just sitting back waiting to see if it will be Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu), Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International) or JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK)," one source noted.
Having used its acquisition of AirTran to expand its international footprint to include Aruba, Cancún, México City International, Montego Bay, Nassau International, Punta Cana, and San José Cabo, so Southwest may use either Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines to enter Hawaii; a leisure market the Texan LCC has yet to tap.
Southwest last week announced a record profit of USD608 million in the second quarter, up 31% from the same period last year. It was the airline's ninth straight quarter of record profit.
