Quote:
Originally Posted by Clear Right
Alaska has 15 partner airlines, 13 of which are international flag carriers on the West coast. JetBlue has 23 partner airlines, 20 of which are international flag carriers on the East coast. DAL should probably get used to the international feed from AS and B6, rather than getting "miffed." My opinion only, but these partnerships will only continue to grow. Sucks for DAL, but reality, just more reason for DAL to buy Alaska and JetBlue, staple all the pilots and sell the pieces, then Gloopy could get some sleep (just kidding Gloopy).
Ha. The landscape of the industry definately is changing. I think what we're seeing though is a massive fantasy bubble, propped up by governments as always, with many foreign airlines that are making this new era paradigm possible. I don't think its sustainable though, and I know it can't last. In the meantime though, the legacies absolutely have to do something about it.
Some may think (not saying you do) that the new era "nationals" (yeah I know, everyone is a major these days including most regionals, yadda yadda) like AS and JB can just network the world and help the foreign airlines poach a dozen or three pax off of each flight while getting free revenue can continue. This isn't 2001 anymore and the days of free fire poaching appear to be over, even in the capacity dicipline world. After taking a ton of broadside fire and direct hit after direct hit, DL is finally firing warning shots back. Hopefully the others will follow.