Originally Posted by
Sink r8
Makes sense to me. We just don't know whether they're going to be able to keep the lid on capacity (hope not). I think they're hedging their bets more in these last two quarterly costs, and not letting themsleves be too tied to promises of capacity discipline.
Bottom line: I think we all understand we're not working for the airline that's going to grow more than the industry average, no matter which way total industry capacity goes.
DL is trying to set themselves apart from the rest of the industry in terms of generating a revenue premium and having the flexibility to be opportunistic, which as you point out, could mean growth.
They want to have access to more cash, more fleet types, more route options and employee support to make things happen that no other airline can presently do. So I don't think that being focused on margins means no growth, it just means that growth won't happen solely for market share.
One thing I didn't mention in the notes is the large investment in I.T. that DL will be making this year in terms of revenue and product management. I think we are talking revolutionary in terms of what the technology will do for us, and it may well generate a business case for targeted expansion by identifying opportunities that currently are under appreciated, and conversely, it may cause us to take a look at parts of the operation that are under performing.