Originally Posted by
ecam
You've got to think outside the box. We keep the 737s. Why wouldn't we? At the beginning of this year we flew 3 types. I would guess some MSP 737 pilots would be repositioned throughout the system, particularly the west coast (back to Hawaii). We get an international operation and reservations system. Airbi fly to Mexico and the Caribbean. Our management has expressed desire to expand south, but hasn't been able to make it happen for several reasons.
I don't see any of the big 3 legacy carriers buying us. To Delta we are just a fly on the window screen. They are a solid international carrier who cares way more about A330s/350s than A320s. They see their whole domestic network as feed. They don't need us for feed with all of their small narrow body airplanes coming. Wouldn't merge with an airline considered "less" than them.
American is still a basket case from their mergers. I don't see them taking on another airline with a wacky route structure that doesn't integrate with theirs at all. Doug Parker loves money, and we practically print it, but taking on 12 new hubs, and whole bunch of new destinations they don't fly to at all, and tackling another integration? I doubt it.
United has expressed a need for used Airbi, and of course Levi is there. They have played with basic coach and thinner routes. They are committed to growing their domestic network and can't get the planes they need. However, like the others, we would integrate poorly with their route network, and their management is a disaster. It seems the Big Plan over there changes on a weekly basis. They still haven't achieved synergy from the CAL merger. Would the Board even authorize another merger? The only way I could see that merger scenario happening is if they just bought the planes. That would require Allegiant air shutting down, which isn't going to happen. We are a publicly held company, and you can't just tank billions of investor dollars and stay out of jail.
I beg to differ. There is opportunity to fit G4 fleet into the existing Big 3. DL is getting new planes, but all with larger capacity than G4, which could be used to maintain and grow small and medium demand routes. UA is on the hunt for A319s and I'm sure they could make use of the 320s, either as replacements for their older 320s or trade ins towards 321s. AA could use the G4 fleet to grow the small main line jet fleet with the 319s, particularly with the 190s leaving and scope limits. Believe it or not, there is a way for them to capitalize on the 320s. They could easily replace the ancient AA 320 fleet and with an increase in the 738 seating capacity, would open up more markets that can support a 150 seat plane but not always a 170ish seat plane.
Also, if the airline is sold, there is no guarantee that any of the current "hubs" will be kept. More than likely the travel part of G4 will have a deal with whoever buys the airline to have an exclusive travel booking relationship to wherever they fly. Also, the current G4 hubs are not exactly attractive to a lot of existing airlines, they can all be serviced easily via nearby major airports and the few major airports G4 hubs in such as LAS and LAX will be a draw back. LAS because the G4 gates are on the older terminal that houses most ULCC activity and there would not be enough there to house a sizable LAS fleet and existing traffic, Plus very few, if any airlines would be enticed to vacate D or T3 to head over to A/B gates. LAX and FLL have so few G4 gates, there wouldn't be a lot to gain in the overall size of those airports operations unless, it went to operators with already sizable presence at those locations.