Originally Posted by
Tranquility
Where did you get the impression that the acquisition of Spirit is just to consolidate back the the NE?? With some of NKs hubs, it provides them with a direct competition launch pad in several legacy hubs…
DFW competes directly with AA and SW
ATL competes directly with DL and SW
ORD competes directly with AA, SW and UA
LAX isn’t a hub for us but we have slots that allow competition with pretty much everyone….
You don’t need widebodies to compete with the big 4…. You need access & pilots…
I think the hubs NK brings to the table are valuable and not something JB would walk away from. I agree that it gives us direct competition to legacies, and WB intl is one of the highest margin types of flying done by legacies.. I think it would make sense to expand domestically but also internationally with bigger planes to go against UA/DL/AA in their own hubs. It would be stupid to buy NK and then close everything and go back to NE-Florida only, but that would be the only way forward if WBs aren't on the horizon.
The previous poster was alluding to how WB pay would only be a carrot just like it was at Skywest with 737 pay rates, but never actually operated them. I think by 2030 it is reasonable to see WBs on the ramp flown by JB pilots.