American Airlines to Engage in Price War with Low-Cost Rivals - October 26, 2015 - Zacks.com

Please don't take this as a snotty post from some ULCC pilot, honestly it is not. I want every pilot to prosper, and I don't begrudge any Legacy pilot for making a better living than me. I'm simply thinking out-loud and hoping some wiser thoughts than mine follow.

I've read several articles like this one. I have a few questions. In order for Legacy airlines to compete for the low-cost passenger, don't they have to essentially subsidize a portion of the low cost passenger's ticket with revenue from business travelers paying normal legacy prices?

In other words, the model isn't set up to succeed at low-cost. CASM is too high, so they have to take it in the shorts to keep passengers they might not really want in the first place? No?

It strikes me as odd. It would be like if Nordstrom was wringing their hands because people were choosing Walmart over them, so they carve out half of their store and run some blue-light specials. Talk about an identity crisis.

What happened to the concept of niche? Isn't it smarter for Legacies to to stay in their niche? Remember Song and Ted? Or is it that Parker is smart enough to realize the whole paradigm of air-travel is shifting, and Legacies may one day face similar challenges as that of Barnes & Nobel?

Or is it simply a maneuver to use deep pockets to bleed the ULCCs dry overtime?

So many questions, brain too small.