Southwest Airlines (LUV)

[FORTY-8]

LUV purchased innovative IT software that gives it the option of switching to the spot-oil market for Jet-A fuel. This was in place as early as 2010 ... which is (coincidentally) when its share price began its upward climb.

Here are several links:

Read the "forward" of this book (“Looking Beyond the Runway – Airlines Innovating with Best Practices while Facing Realities")
regarding the implimentation of IT solutions to problems that bedeviled the commercial aviation industry ... THAT WAS WRITTEN BY THE IT FOLKS AT LUV.

http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409400998

That forward to the book was written by none other than Mr. Bob Jordan, the Executive Vice President for Strategy and Planning at Southwes (and that's got the real-time, spot-price of "OIL" written all over it; no?).

And check out the references to these other officers of LUV:

Adam Decaire, Senior Director of Network Planning:

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/adam-decaire/a/4b5/563

John Jamotta, Senior V.P. of Network Planning

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southwest-airlines-names-new-vice-president-of-network-planning-110397049.html

Lee Lipton, Director of Strategic Planning

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2009/09/southwest-airlines-to-europe-s.html/

and Peter McGlade, Senior Strategic Advisor

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-mcglade/20/377/932

I'm here to ascertain the likelihood of whether or not an important acquisition will take place in the very near term. And to that end, I've done a fair amount of due diligence. I'd sincerely appreciate the comments of anyone ... WHO HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO DO THE SAME.