AA,

I think we can both agree that this will be an interesting experiment for a couple reasons.

First and foremost, I find it odd (at first glance) that NWA would retailliate on a route where it doesn't have presence nor critical mass on either end. However, as a member of Skyteam, NWA does have possible feed from their other partners Delta and Continental. With that being said, it's still my humble opinion that NWA would do better to defend the route MSP-LGA with saavy marketing and passenger incentives in the form of pricing and freq. flyer bonuses, than to throw assets at a route which may not materialize.

MSP, for NWA has been a good hub in terms of revenue. Even though Air Tran and Sun Country have flights to MSP, their LCC presence and effect on NWA's revenue isn't as pronounced as say, Southwest's presence at Philadelphia was to USAirways (in terms of Revenue per Avail Seat Mile).

Someone from NWA might be able to confirm it, but domestically I would venture a guess that MSP to DCA and/or LGA and the many cities they serve within 300 miles of MSP are their bread and butter. That's why I have the opinion that defending that route would be more important than throwing assets at the DFW route, just to prove a point.

AA, I'd be curious to hear how the respective routes are doing for both the carriers if you come across any data.

Any other opinions ???

Regards,

FF