Good question!!! Never thought of it like that before.

I remember that CAL also used Eagle out in LAX for truly "regional feed", i think Eagle is like a mini-version of ALK, nobody can make money if they had to compete head to head, so they all pool together and just use one airplane to move everyone's passengers...

Not saying I necessarily LIKE the arrangement, but its better than losing money and cutting it altogether.

(I still think the ALK thing needs to be absorbed or drawn down over time)