Originally Posted by
waterboy
I’m not trying to be a jerk. Just really curious about what you see on the horizon that I don’t.
You're actually being far more civil than many others here, which I appreciate.
I guess I'm just looking at the big, long-term picture. I'm talking the next 5 to 15 years and beyond. I see AS getting squeezed on all sides by DL in SEA, UA in SFO, AA in LAX, WN, well, pretty much everywhere, and the only thing that will keep AS alive will be great service and low fares.
And right now AS enjoys a CASM advantage of anywhere from 20% or better over those carriers, meaning we can hang on longer in a low fare environment than they can. In addition, we didn't make the colossal mistake of chasing after premium transcon traffic with a small, expensive sub-fleet of dedicated transcon aircraft that you can't plug into the rest of the network when needed. I really think that is going to be a big leg up going forward.
I also see potential aircraft orders on the horizon that can help; we may keep or even expand the A321NEO fleet, but I see great interest in the MOM project down the line, and possibly even CS300 equipment on mainline routes at some point. I see a future with 100 new mainline aircraft on the property in the next 5-7 years.
But we won't get there if we can't remain competitive while also offering a great product.