A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Ilya Novelj | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Southwest Airlines British Airways plans to cut service to and from Atlanta next year, cutting more than 300 pilot and flight attendant jobs, according to a company memo seen by CNBC.
The changes come a day before Southwest's investor day, where executives will lay out the company's plan to cut costs and boost revenue as pressure mounts from activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
Southwest has told employees it will not close its Atlanta crew base. Instead, it will cut staff by up to 200 flight attendants and up to 140 pilots by April 2025.
The airline is also not laying off crews, but they will likely have to bid for work from other cities.
Southwest Airlines plans to reduce its presence in Atlanta to 11 gates next year from 18, according to a separate memo from the pilots' union.
The company said it will offer services to 21 cities from Atlanta starting in April, down from 37 cities in March.
“While we try everything we can before making difficult decisions like this one, we simply cannot afford to continue to lose money and must make this change to help restore our profitability,” Southwest said in a memo. “This decision in no way reflects the performance of our employees, and we are proud of the hospitality and efforts they have and will continue to provide to our customers in Atlanta.”
Unions representing Southwest pilots and flight attendants have attacked the airline for staff and service cuts.
“Southwest Airlines management is failing to meet the needs of employees while impacting customers,” said Bill Bernal, president of the Flight Attendants Union. “Management continues to make decisions that lack full transparency and adequate communication with union leadership, and most troubling of all is the lack of focus on what made the airline great — its employees.”
A Southwest spokesperson confirmed the changes and said the company “will continue to improve our network to meet customer demand, optimize our fleet, and maximize revenue opportunities.”
Passengers check in at the Southwest counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Ilya Novelj | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The airline had already pulled out of certain airports, some of which it had experimented with during the pandemic, to focus on more profitable service.
Southwest is not only facing changing booking patterns and oversupply in the U.S. market, but also aircraft delays due to BoeingIts yet-to-be-certified 737 Max 7 aircraft are years behind schedule.
Andrew Waterson, the airline's chief operating officer, told employees last week that the company would have to make “difficult decisions” to boost profits.
A drop in Atlanta, the world's busiest airport, and Delta Air Lines Its hub is the airline’s latest development. In July, Southwest announced plans to eliminate open seats and add more legroom on its planes, the biggest changes in more than half a century of flying.
Southwest also announced an expanded ticket sales schedule on Wednesday through June 4. In addition to the planned cuts in Atlanta, the airline said it will boost service to and from Nashville, Tenn. It will also begin offering overnight flights from Hawaii, starting April 8. Those flights include service from Honolulu to Las Vegas and Phoenix; Kona, Hawaii, to Las Vegas; and Maui, Hawaii, to Las Vegas and Phoenix.
