Originally Posted by Flyby1206

Hindsight is 20/20.

Looking back we should have just went gangbusters into LAX/SFO pre-VX when we had a chance. But JB was a small, financially fragile carrier that was already up to their necks in risk. SNA, even with lots of slot availability, is a terrible airport for what we needed to do considering we didn’t have a plane capable of making it to any of our east coast focus cities from there.

LGB made sense at the time. Overlooked slot-controlled airport with poor terminal infrastructure, but long runway, and a cooperative airport authority (at the time). Close proximity to Orange County $$$ and LA Basin.

The initial plan was for JB to scoop up all the Air Carrier slots which we would use for A320 service and also scoop up all of the Commuter Slots to fly the E190. That would have given us an additional 25 daily slots, which would have been a considerable add and would have allowed us to open a proper E190 domicile alongside the A320. Short haul west coast feed with the E190, and transcon with the A320.

Obviously things went south, the council got sour on JB, we violated noise regs, and the rest is history.

If the initial plan worked out, we would be about 60 daily flights, a new terminal and FIS, with almost no competition in one of the highest income areas of the country. Kind of like being 90% market share at HPN airport.