Right you are BB: "I always fly Delta, but most of my associates were deep into the AirTran easy upgrades. If your travel is mostly regional it is difficult to become frequent flier royalty."

OK, so here's the issue; how is any Business Man in ATL going to get a free upgrade on South West?

And we know their prices are the same (or more) than Delta's coach, so why would any Business Man show any loyalty to SWA, with no Business Class to upgrade to?

I think SWA bought Air Tran just to shut it down and eliminate a low fare competitor, and get their International routes, and their computer res. system. We know they didn't want their 717's...so...why buy them, if not to eliminate them?