Originally Posted by LoopsMcDoops

For sure they are checked out but...

The big 4 have been working for years now in terms of buying up gates and securing massive aircraft orders to stop anyone else from growing. Just look at DFW. AA brought ERJ's out of the desert to stop us from getting more gates there. Those aircraft are not profitable, yet they operate them at a loss to stop us. Not a problem either, they can subsidize those losses elsewhere in their system or from the AAdvantage members. The big 4 have been allowed to grow so large that effectively they have the entire domestic market locked down. We can operate on like routes, but the ULCC model is perceptually inferior to that of the typical airline model. When comparing ticket prices, the slight "savings" we may offer is not great enough for most passengers to sacrifice some comfort or additional options the bigger airlines provide. The big 4 have found ways to make us as an option an afterthought when shopping for tickets. Yet our management has done nothing to counter this. Essentially the market power the big 4 now hold is insurmountable. It will take literally decades to organically grow any other airline to a size that can compete with economies of scale. Mergers are the only way now.