Originally Posted by
gloopy
That's the issue. The LCC's are banking on the legacies gifting them capacity, or at the very least forcing someone's hand with merger mania to buy off a competitor.
A year or two ago I would have been very concerned the legacy airlines (very much including SWA) would have yielded to the young buck marketshare poachers but the tide had apparently turned. Legacies have hit critical mass where they can bury an insolent LCC or two (each) on any and all competing routes and still post big profits over all.
That is correct to a degree. There just aren't any more point to point markets where a start up can get a foothold in the industry. Even the poster child for point to point is now interested in markets that historically were not even on their radar. (DCA? Really??? How far out of their model is THAT?) I think the term "insolent" is over the top, but I get what you are saying. It is going to be much much harder for startups from here on...