Originally Posted by
KNOTAPILOT
You know how difficult that is? The amount of years, taking planes down for a prolonged time to fit the JetBlue way. How much it costs to do it and the cost of not operating it. The cost of not being identified as neither brand for many many years. Think about getting a ticket on JetBlue in 3 years and wondering if you’re going to have leg room and a Tv or being tight and being front row to a fight? You don’t think both demographics that like each airline stay off? Mostly the JetBlue loyals?
Didn’t SWA get around this by running AT separately during the wind down? IE selling tickets separately still, pulling a few AC off the operating certificate to reconfigure, and slowly winding it down? I can’t remember but once they get a joint CBA it could come with a clause that allows both certificates to exist temporarily during a set wind down transition period of say 2 years.
Though I’m sure they would re-protect and code share with each from day one during this transition so yeah still some issues just like AA/B6 now on that front.
But as long as they keep the brands separate wile converting say 10 AC a month for a few years and continue to sell tickets separately it could work.
I could be wrong but I recall flying AT well after the merger was official and I bought the tickets on their site and it was 100% their product although the CS was already converted to SWA and it was a SWA branded gate so some transition was going on outside the onboard experience. So not ideal for sure but I think there may be president.