[Travelandtourism] Southwest plans 322 new jobs in S.A.

[Reese]

It sure would be nice if some of us blind people could get some of these 
jobs coming To San Antonio.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. plans to move and expand its San Antonio 
customer service center - adding 322 new jobs for a total of at least 800 
and investing $4 million in a new location - under a tentative incentive 
agreement with the city of San Antonio.

City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on the agreement that will 
provide up to $581,649 in incentives to Southwest Airlines over the next 10 
years.

"I don't think there will be a problem" with the vote, Mayor Julián Castro 
said Monday.

"Southwest's San Antonio workforce has been impressive over the years. The 
customer service center was their first one. It made sense to expand here," 
Castro said.

Southwest Airlines has operated its customer service center at 3635 Medical 
Drive since 1981. It now employs 478 workers. The airline wants to 
consolidate its customer service operations following its acquisition of 
AirTran Holding Inc. in February 2011.

However, the Medical Drive location has no room for expansion. Southwest 
Airlines has selected a new site at 11711 Interstate 35 North, a former 
Kmart store at the intersection with O'Connor Road. It plans to spend $4 
million at the location in renovations and equipment, city Assistant 
Economic Development Director Ed Davis said.

Under the pending agreement, the city would provide a cash incentive of 
$220,000 in each of the first two years and grant a rebate of annual 
personal property taxes of up to $141,649 spread over 10 years. The 
incentives will come from the city's Economic Development Incentive Fund.

In return, Southwest Airlines would agree to maintain employment at 800 or 
more for at least 10 years. In addition, the airline must add the 322 new 
positions by Dec. 31.

Southwest Airlines also must pay new workers at least $10.75 an hour, which 
would be about $22,000 annually. The current workforce, many with numerous 
years of experience, earns an average of more than $40,000 a year, Davis 
said. Southwest pays new employees, after training and about one year of 
experience, in the low $30,000 range, Davis said. "That's typical for 
customer service centers," he added.

"If council chooses not to approve these incentives, (Southwest Airlines) 
could elect to cease customer services operations in San Antonio and 
consolidate and expand their customer service operations in other cities 
outside Texas where (Southwest Airlines) has existing operations," a 
briefing memorandum to council members states.

"Other expansion sites (Southwest Airlines) considered include Orlando, 
Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Phoenix," the briefing memo added.

In anticipation of council approval, a formal announcement of the expansion 
already is set for Thursday at City Hall following the City Council vote, 
Davis said. A Southwest Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that airline 
officials will not comment on the project until Thursday.

Southwest Airlines' AirTran acquisition added 37 new cities to Southwest 
Airlines' route system, including Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport 
in Atlanta. AirTran operated customer service centers in Orlando, Fla., and 
Atlanta at the time of the acquisition.

Southwest Airlines announced in late 2011 that AirTran Airways will add two 
San Antonio-Mexico routes to Mexico starting in May, to Mexico City and 
Cancún. Eventually, the Southwest Airlines name will be used for AirTran 
operations, another step toward becoming an international airline.

Talks between Southwest Airlines and the city about customer service center 
expansion have occurred for several years, Davis said. "The talks went away. 
After the AirTran deal, we re-engaged with them," Davis explained.

"We are establishing a strong relationship with Southwest going forward," 
Castro said. "This (the customer service center expansion) is one component 
of that."

The San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, which has added business 
investment retention to its duties, assisted in the expansion agreement by 
helping Southwest Airlines find a new San Antonio location, Davis said. EDF 
is partially funded by the city.

Reese