A very intererseting proposition.... Does the fact that Alaska and Hawaii are not part of the contiguous 48 provide enough business reason to keep them independant and yet profitable over the long run? Many students of the airline industry would say no... the natural oligopoly that will take over as dergulations' semi-monololy withers away some 3 decades later says their both too small to make it in a commercial market.. can they buck the odds? Stay tuned.