The purchase of home-grown Morris Air by Southwest Airlines appears to mean that low-cost, no-frill air service is not only going to stay in Utah but is going to play an increasingly significant role in the airline industry. Yet that possibility does not bring unqualified cheers from everybody in the travel business.
Consumers may enjoy the extremely low ticket prices to a limited number of cities, but competitors who feel pressured to match those prices, plus travel agents who see their commissions shrink, are less happy.Both Morris and Southwest take the same approach - cutting costs by assigning no seats, serving no meals, printing no tickets, providing no amenities and concentrating on getting from airport to airport as quickly and simply as possible.
In their own way, they are like discount stores in the retail business. At least some segments of the traveling public think the trade-off is worthwhile. Both Morris and Southwest have enjoyed some success with this approach.
Morris Air began as a charter sideline to the highly successful travel agency built by June Morris and eventually became a regular airline. It was certified for scheduled service in 1992, reaching some 20 cities in seven Western states and Alaska.
Southwest, of course, is much bigger than Morris. Founded in 1971, it serves some 34 cities across the nation. The airline has more daily flights to its destinations and carries more than six times as many passengers.
The acquisition of Morris will make Southwest about 13 percent larger. Along with taking in Morris in exchange for about $128 million worth of Southwest stock, the airline also is ordering some 63 new Boeing jets.
The idea of discount airlines is not new, but most of them failed to survive in the 1970s. Southwest was an exception and now appears to be gathering strength in an American society increasingly concerned about costs.
In an era when former industrial giants have been downsizing their operations and laying off thousands of workers, the no-frills approach to air transportation may be carving out a permanent low-price niche in the marketplace. For consumers, that's an undeniable plus. For competitors, it's a challenge.