AS and SWA have such programs too.

Here, let me AI that for you:

The revenue from credit card programs for legacy US airlines like American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines is significant compared to other sources of income. Here's a breakdown based on available information:

Revenue from Credit Cards: Delta Air Lines, for instance, has generated substantial income from its American Express credit card partnership. In 2023, Delta was expected to collect nearly $7 billion from American Express, which was nearly equal to the revenue from flying passengers in 2022. This indicates that credit card revenue can be as significant as, if not more than, their core passenger transport business. Similarly, in 2019, Delta reported $4 billion from selling miles to banks, which was 14% of its operational revenue. United Airlines also benefits significantly from its MileagePlus program, with a reported $5.3 billion from selling miles in 2019. American Airlines had $5.6 billion in loyalty and related revenues in 2019, including credit card partnerships.
Impact of Banning Airline Credit Cards: If airline credit cards were banned tomorrow, the financial impact on these airlines would be considerable:

Profitability: The airlines would likely see a sharp decline in profits. For instance, Delta's credit card deal with American Express was projected to hit $7 billion annually by 2023, which is a significant portion of their overall revenue. United and American also rely heavily on their loyalty programs for revenue, with loyalty programs accounting for a large part of their market value and operational profits. The loss of this income would directly affect their bottom line.
Loyalty Programs: Without credit card partnerships, airlines would lose a major source of customer engagement and loyalty program funding. This could lead to a decrease in customer retention and an increase in competition for direct ticket sales, possibly affecting pricing and profitability further.
Alternative Revenue: Airlines might have to find alternative sources of revenue or restructure their loyalty programs to compensate for the loss. However, this would not be immediate, and the transition could lead to a temporary or even permanent dip in profitability.
Market Response: Given the high margins on loyalty rewards compared to the core flying business, a ban on credit cards could lead to market adjustments, such as increased fees for services that were previously perks of the credit card programs, or a shift in how loyalty points are earned and redeemed.


In summary, while these airlines still generate significant revenue from passenger services, banning airline credit cards would likely result in a noticeable reduction in profitability unless they could swiftly adapt with new revenue strategies or significantly increase other income sources. The exact impact would vary by airline, but for all three, it would be a substantial financial hit.

SWA has a loyal consumer base in certain geographic regions, which reduces their cost as more individuals use their card.

AS allows you to accumulate points and redeem/access to One World partners.

We on the other hand, do not unless you’re interested in flying on Cape Air, Silver, or the Middle East.

[QUOTE=DrSmacFum;3871191]Paywalled article:
"JetBlue Leases 20 DCA Slots to AA?"
https://x.com/Enilria6/status/1879202200590987681


Does anyone know anything about this? To me, IF a merger does happen, AA has always felt like the most likely candidate[/QUOTE]

Readint the JB forum any airline is the most likely fit. First it’s American. Then it’s spirit. Followed by Alaska/Hawaii. Back to American.

i think inevitably you’ll merge. You’re just going to be on the verge of retiring by the time it finally happens

[QUOTE=LinaPeru;3871338]
I don’t think he is right there. Yes we’re not flying all of our dca slots but they said awhile back that they wouldn’t and they would use the FAA slot waiver. Basically you keep the slots but you don’t fly them. Now they could move planes around where they need them. I do know we are down one dca gate on lease to AA.

I don't think it will be AA, they are already the largest-ish airline.

Makes it that much harder to get by the regulators, although it could also be that the next four years is a rare "anything goes" window.

I agree. While I'm not a fan of the incoming political path we're taking, I also don't believe it's going to be "Do whatever you want" when it comes to regulatory stuff. UA made a big stink when we tried to move into Newark, imagine their reaction if AA or DL wanted to buy us. For our own careers I wish one of the big 3 would just buy us, but realitically I could see Southwest merger or something smaller, like Breeze. I would have loved a Hawaiian merger but I can't imagine that AK would be ready to make a big move like that while in the middle of their current purchase. That said, I don't know what I'm talking about and just throwing stuff at the wall hoping something sticks.

Looking at it like a strategic board game from the AS perspective...

If they really want to solidify their critical mass in the US competitive market, and set themselves up for international growth...

Take 2-3 years to complete the big muscle movements related to HA, then move to acquire B6 with 1-2 years left of guaranteed favorable regulatory climate.

The current AS managers certainly have exhibited ambition, unprecedented ambition by AS historical standards. I'd guess that 2-3 years is sooner than ideal, but has the obvious advantage of essentially assured .gov rubber stamp. Also the longer they wait, the better the chances that B6 will merge with someone else. From where I sit in the cheap seats, B6 is next obvious logical move for agressive-ish expansion. Of course they could just sit back, consolidate the HA thing, and then grow organically according to whatever boeing's 787 delivery schedule ends up being. That would be more in keeping with their traditional fiscal conservatism. I guess that would depend on personal ambition, how much leash the board grants, and how big they think they need to be to safely bulwark against the big 4 (economy of scale does matter).

The supposed brother's uncle who knows the van driver in SDQ rumor was AS/B6 talked merger several years ago but couldnt come to agreement on upper mgmt details but had a loose plan where AS would merge with HA and meantime B6 would merge with NK. This would give both AS and B6 a few years to scale through smaller mergers and then combine forces down the road. Obviously this didnt work out for B6/NK, but it would have made sense given a broader plan of global scale with AS/HA/B6/NK all in the same mgmt team.

I'm reasonably confident that there actually have been some management level discussions over the years, we've heard that and why would they not discuss such things? Most of these guys are playing a game of thrones, in addition to running airlines.

But premeditated (AS+HA) + (B6+NK) => some future date seems like some pretty serious four-dimensional chess. Especially since the NK variable is now a divide-by-zero error. I'm not giving any airline managers that much credit :rolleyes: