While some airlines are looking for ways to keep themselves afloat by cutting costs and furloughing employees, others are looking to expand.
Southwest Airlines announced that starting next year, it will begin operating from two new airports – Chicago O'Hare and George Bush Intercontinental. By doing this, Southwest will intensify its competition with United Airlines.
"Today's announcement furthers our commitment to both cities as we add service to share Southwest's value and hospitality with more leisure and business travelers," said the company's CEO Gary Kelly.
Unlike any other air carrier, Southwest is looking for ways to avert job cuts and layoffs. To do so, it asked the labor unions to be on board with pay cuts as the federal aid expired on October 1. Southwest has, in total, almost 9,000 employees.
Despite the cuts and the upcoming expansion, Southwest expects its revenue to remain 70% lower than average.
Following the announcement, Southwest stock price closed 1.36% lower.
Read more about how the aviation industry is coping with the pandemic's effects here and here!
Sources: thestreet.com, finance.yahoo.com