I predict that we may see a different paradigm as we emerge from this trough that we are now in.

Just a little example here. Years ago, I was in charge of a janitorial company. We had a contract with a government agency providing solid reliability and quality for a fair price. The government customer was required to bid out the job every year through a RFP (request for proposal) process. Every year, my company would get underbid by a new low baller that was way below all the other bids. The government agency knew from experience they would not be happy with the low baller but they lacked the guts to risk criticism for buying from a higher priced contractor.

Every year, the government agency would fire their new janitorial service after about 1 month of miserable service then hire my company back. The service buyers knew that it would be better to just hire my company in the first place but they were worried about the consequences. I believe a private company, such as an airline, may be more likely to balance quality against the lowest price.

I think some managers at Delta will remember the consequences of hiring Mesa for a long time.

In a way, you really can't blame Mesa for thinking they were filling a niche. Look how long it took for Delta to finally ditch them.

I think as we enter the next upswing, airline managers are going to be asking themselves questions about how to avoid another Mesa.