Originally Posted by
squaretail
Why? I remember everyone saying JetBlue would fail... well, fail once they had to pay their maintenance, or American was going to buy them... etc. this goes back though Morris Air, through People's Express, and all the way to that little start-up Southwest -- legacies and their pilots have predicted the doom of, arguably, the most succesful part of the market for decades.
The truth is, ifyou want to see the play book of how NOT to compete with an LCC, look no further than Delta.
You may be right, but... because you shot from the hip, I ask... Why?
You picked 2 success stories (Morris doesn't count because they were bought out). What about SkyBus, AirSouth, Atlanta Air, Midway, Hooters Air, Air21, Midway, Independence Air, Champion, Legend, Muse, Vanguard, or the host of others I can't remember?
How profitable has Virgin America been?
The environment is changed. There aren't a whole lot of economically viable aircraft sitting in the boneyard waiting to be snapped up at $3.25 gallon jet fuel. There's not a whole lot of venture capital willing to bankroll losses. Delta, UAL, AMR, USAir and SWA control the majority of the market, and they're running a very low margin business. Who is going to invest for a 3% return against the big guys with the history that's out there?
Fools. And their money will soon be parted.
