Originally Posted by
NimbusSurfer
Call me crazy, but I predict significant growth by SWA in not only "near" international, but long-haul markets. At a recent message to the field Gary said our goal was to be "the world's favorite airline". Once the AirTran thing settles out, near-international becomes the norm and the 737Max is on board, I see us buying a wide body airplane and going far...5-10 year horizon.
The big question is will the new mega legacies just sit back and allow a potentially future massive new entrant into those markets? This will force their hand in a way that nothing in history ever has. They will fight harder than ever because they will have to. SWA can't out bleed them all. If they try it will get very messy for all involved. They could bunt and just partner, but they aren't set up well for it hub wise unless they get a large NYC presence somehow. ANy route they could possibly do would have multipile legacies adding additional large widebodies and seat dumping at permanent intro fares until someone blinks.