True, those companies are staples and we are not. It's certainly not a direct comparison. One thing that Frontier has going for it though is that we don't need all that many people to trickle down to us. Having 100 airplanes is a lot less seats to fill than a 750 airplane fleet. So, say a big bad bear rolls into the economy, some of our folks stop traveling, and some folks buy the cheapo Frontier ticket instead of their usual United ticket.

I'd be more scared to be the largest airline in the world with rising costs, than the smaller guy with the lowest costs in the industry.

Thar being said, as the Forbes article explains in great detail, the industry's shift to increase ancillary revenue will help all airlines survive. Which is good for everyone. Hopefully we never see chapter 11s and pilot pay concessions again. Anywhere.