Judge Smails

Yeah, it's delusional. All we would be doing is flooding the market with even more cheap seats at a loss. At least Pratt is funneling some cash to help keep this ****show afloat.

SSlow

I would not be surprised in the least if our South Florida gate space is more valuable than anyone is letting on.

I'm not a business man, but I'm also not an idiot either. The continued migration of wealth into the area is absurd. Downtown FLL is essentially one large construction zone with multiple 30-40+ story high rises going up to accomodate the more upscale jetsetter types. The developers aren't building all of this for the Lauderdale Lakes and Hialeah crowd who fly on Spirit.

Miami around downtown/edgewater is even more insane (if you don't believe me go checkout the real deal website for RE).

The people moving here aren't your salt of the earth types from flyover country who appreciate a cheap airline ticket. These are high net worth individuals/families who do not have a second thought when paying cash for a Range Rover and a seven-figure second home/condo.

They don't care about budget travel experiences. They demand upscale products, and yeah AA has a hub in MIA but let's be honest, they have clearly fallen behind DL and UAL.

I didn't type all of this to say that it makes financial sense for them to buy NK or B6, and I wouln't bet my career on it, but you'd have to be extemely naive to not think that there are serious discussions going on at DL/UAL over how to capture more of the South Florida market after one of the biggest wealthy migrations in modern history.

You can order all of the narrowbodies in the world but it's useless without gate space in the hot markets.

Judge Smails

AA has made plenty of strategic mistakes, but MIA is not one of them.

CincoDeMayo

Spirit recently said that the growth from AA in MIA is a large reason NK has pulled back in MIA

It’s hilarious NK thought they would pop on down to MIA to give AA a run for its money; with AA being notoriously protective of their hubs.

And UAL basically killed all of the IAH international flights for NK.

SSlow

That still doesn't change the fact that they are a second tier legacy

https://www.flightglobal.com/analysi...159708.article

From the article:

[Some believe that the elite ”Big Four” group of US airlines has been halved, with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines now standing side-by-side atop the industry while others – even such giants as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines – trail in terms of execution and profitability.

Delta and United have been making that case themselves. The chief executives of both companies boasted of their market dominance during July earnings calls, claiming to hold lasting structural advantages over competitors due to finely tuned revenue management systems and premium-traveller-oriented international networks.

“United has consistently been ahead of the curve on the big-picture elements driving the industry,” said Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive. “We’re running the best operation in our history despite operating in the most difficult hubs in the world – Chicago, New York and San Francisco – and despite having more exposure to the issues of Boeing than any other airline in the world.”

During a second quarter when many US airlines struggled with weaker year-on-year profitability, United reported a profit of $1.32 billion for a year-on-year increase of 23%.

Delta turned a similar profit of $1.31 billion during the second quarter, a 29% decrease compared with the prior-year period.

“We are delivering double-digit margins and strong returns in this environment, with Delta expected to generate 50% of the industry’s profitability in the first half of the year, despite only representing 20% of the market’s capacity,” said Delta chief executive Ed Bastian.]

MstrAv8r

Sour grapes, eh? Somebody must’ve gotten the old TBNT from AA. Enjoy your sinning ship.

SSlow

To be honest I never applied, but that's not the point.

I didn't write the article, but the other two legacies are doing much better from a business standpoint. It's nothing personal against anyone working for AA.

Judge Smails

I mean it seems like there's some sour grapes there, because I even pointed out that AA has made strategic mistakes. Regardless, if it comes down to spending the rest of ones career at NK or AA there isn't much of (I'm being generous) a debate.

This business is cyclical. Today's trash is tomorrows treasure and vice versa. I can remember when Delta was fodder for a takeover from US Airways, it wasn't that long ago. "Keep Delta My Delta". United has extremely ambitious growth plans that may yet blow up in their face. Kirby strikes me as somebody that just knows he's the smartest guy in the room. AA seems to be a rudderless ship for the last decade plus, but there has been some very recent management shakeup. Just get on with a legacy, whichever one that calls first. You never know how this industry shakes out, but I do know the little guy (like us) always gets *********.

CincoDeMayo

Or during covid when UAL and management had to make agreements on raises based on if/when the company recovers from Covid. Lots of people on this forum predicting UALs demise. Lots of guys here predicting AA filing CH 11 because of there debt.

The irony speaks for itself as NK battles for its own future.

SSlow

Clearly.


Anyway...I was just pointing out that the South Florida market (FLL specifically) is a bigger deal than most people realize.