Originally Posted by
I was inverted
It’s not some legal footnote. It’s industry standard terminology that apparently you missed at some point when you joined this profession. A legacy is any airline that participated in interstate commerce when deregulation happened, hence why SWA isn’t one (they were only flying within Texas at the time).
Why do they call it the big 4? Well, what did your ex-CEO tout the whole time he tried to get the NK merger approved? That 4 airlines control 80% of the marketshare, and B6 was such a small player they couldn’t compete. So, yeah, the “big 4” are a lot bigger than everyone else. Why do they call it the big 3? Well because they are the 3 largest global carriers in America (and the world), and SWA is largely just domestic, so sometimes people exclude them for that reason. This has nothing to do with Skywest, legal footnotes, your own personal food chain, etc. You’re welcome.
When I talk to pilots on my jumpseat, I often hear "Tryna get hired by a legacy"......,.maybe I m assuming incorrectly that they don't mean Hawaiian.
I ve yet to hear someone say "tryna get hired by one of the big 4", I have heard people say. "The big 3"....
Some pilots will specifically mention Southwest by name if it is included in thier destination carriers.
Im not really too concerned with what language Robin and others were using trying to convince a judge in a court of
LAW to get a merger approved.