Originally Posted by
echelon
And just because people have been using Sun Country as the example, what does Alaska have to gain from them? ~45 airplanes, ~450 pilots, and a handful of gates in MSP? Frontier just bought almost 200 airplanes plus a hundred or so orders, 3000 pilots, and a nationwide route structure. AS buying Sun Country just seems like a huge waste of time.
A potential AS/Sun Country deal is not comparable to the Spirit/Frontier deal. Spirit alone surpassed AS in total pax carried in 2020; a combined Spirit/Frontier will create a formidable airline with a single common fleet type. With that said, they'll still be a ULCC with a different business model. Sun Country has diversified its business over the last decade; it is still a ULCC too but it's also moved into cargo/freight as an Amazon Air operator, and is partially owned by Amazon. Given that Amazon's HQ is in Seattle and that freight dogging has become ever more profitable these days, I think if there's a merger/purchase, AS gains some potentially lucrative Amazon Air flying, a chance to expand its own cargo/freight business, potential investment from cross-town Amazon, in addition to additional NG airframes and pilots and a midwest base (MSP) to compete with DL.