Originally Posted by
Bill Lumberg
SWA has "hubs" but not really a hub and spoke operation. Delta could never be as efficient because planes don't leave Atlanta, go to Nashville, then Salt Lake City, then LAX, and then Honolulu. The planes usually just go back to the respective hub as a turn. And I thought having 9 or 10 types of planes was an asset, so marketing could find the exact plane that was perfect for a particular route? One size doesn't always fit all. (I knew that in college)
It depends - Before the merger DAL was shooting for fleet simplicity, and more aircraft types were considered a liability. That was what they said when they parked numerous aircraft types - we need to simplify the fleet. But when management wanted to justify the merger (and their golden stock options) overnight DAL went from shooting for Fleet simplicity to Fleet versatility. Now different aircraft types were all of a sudden an asset. Go figure.
Scoop