Originally Posted by
ERJFO
No route overlap also means that the DOJ kills off very little in the merger, so the entire revenue benefit of both companies is still intact.
The question though is where is the benefit to Alaska?
Several come to mind...
Economy of scale, lower CASM.
Gross tonnage in a competitive sector where size does matter... the AS business model is not a unique niche like G6 or NK, all they have going for them is geography, and their competitors would like to have that. DL does not want Spirit's customers, but they do want AS's SEA hub.
Better brand recognition, the Eskimo just doesn't get much traction east of Vegas (I'm listing objective business benefits, regardless of emotional or "cultural" influences on manager thinking).
Wall street likes mergers.