Bluedriver

What is the counterpunch?

gloopy

Possibly bringing shuttle back to mainline, actually fighting for it, and load/capacity dumping on routes ourselves, finally, while actually fighting for a market instead of automatically yielding it to the endless growth mode airlines. Its still too early to call it a trend vector yet, but DL appears to be turning the "capacity dicipline" freight train around and gearing up to do serious battle with competitors that DL can easilly afford to bleed out while still making significant profits. Refinery and debt interest savings alone can fund one hell of an industry battle while preserving profits.

pilotpayne

I very much doubt that we are about to get into a shuttle operation from DCA to LGA/JFK.

I am sure we might add some flights to BOS in addition to what we have but they seem to be thinking, CHS, JAX, PWM, BDL out of DCA
I am not sure we are an endless growth mode airline, but what would you have us do sit around and wait for Delta to kill us?
I guess we will see soon.

ClippedWing

That's a ridiculous presumption. SWA has the fewest employees per aircraft and highest yield, lowest net long term debt. Of course they can afford to come in with affordable fares. And they will make money doing so too.

tsquare

Because they got the slots under false pretenses.

gloopy

I'd be suprised if JB did very many of those types of routes. Current markets served by a couple RJ's would see a capacity orgy of several times current volume. For the 10 years after 9-11 legacy airlines would automatically gift cpacity to JB out of CASM fear with very few exceptions (ATL was fought for, and a brief attempt with the idiotic Song experiment but they waived the white flag on that one pretty easilly). JB's order book is still staggering, and there are others as well (VX, Spirit, etc not to mention the never ending ponzi scheme start up attempts) and while some of the growth is in botique niche markets even much of that indirectly assaults the yields of legacy networks one way or another. There's not enough room for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of growth narrowbodies from JB and others not even counting the inevitable overly ambitious widebody order from JB and/or SW one day.

JB has to grow to survive and up until very recently their growth has been relatively uncontested. Yes ATL was fought for and CMH/BNA imploded on their own from internal issues, but JB was feared and bowed down to and absolutely given NYC and BOS while the legacies stood with one foot in the air and the other on a banana peel on a tight rope. The pendulum has swung way, way to the other side favoring the legacies, but JB will not, cannot, stop growing. JB knows this which is why they are going "all in" hoping they've reached critical mass and can network in with the dual subsidized Gulf airlines in their fanatic quest to off shore our entire industry, starting with international and "allying" with US airlines only insofar as they need them to reach the next phase of their flag of convienience plan.

The problem with DCA and small markets though, is that they never really were that profitable. So what if a Congressman likes to hop a direct. That is an insignificant drop in the bucket. DL/AA/US were lucky to be able to keep a couple half empty 50 seaters a day on many of those markets. JB adding 300-500+ seats a day into an already marginal market isn't a recipe for success even if the legacies pull out and gift it to them (which they won't, at least not the RJ's that they're paying for anyway).

JB will bulk up the shuttle product, even if they don't call it that. It might not end up being every hour on the hour no matter what, they're could be gaps in service during the slow hours, but they will try. And there simply isn't the demand anymore for 2 airlines doing it on 76 and 100 seaters (DL and US) not to mention JB will absolutely gut the fares in an attempt to make it up in volume, hoping the legacies gift them capacity. I predict they won't, and JB will start a war of attrition that they can't afford to wage. But they have no other choice while they work feverishly to position themselves for merger mania, which is still very much a work in progress.

Sink r8

And because I can still hear the kitten's cries at night.

CGfalconHerc

I'm new to APC..what's up with the kittens and SWA?

Timbo

We've been asking the SWA guys that for years.

Nobody knows why they kill kittens, but they do.

Do you have a kitten?

If you do...

RUN!

qball

Nobody knows why they kill kittens, but they do.


Because grown up cats are just too dang fast.