Can also say JM told us in ground, planning is evaluating bases, only consideration is in the NE and any decisions will be made based largely on real estate availability.

I take that to mean: EWR if we end up with a bunch of gates, but that's a wish. Possibly PHL if we end up with more gates, but that's a less likely wish, or BWI, where we could add 50 flights tomorrow and the airport could accomodate us. Legacies are dug in at IAD and DCA and dont really mess around with BWI clientele or compete on price with themselves with their other DC metro ops, though they all dabble there. There are also income demographics and operating costs at play here. Ranking cost per airports, MCO, FLL, and LAS are all top five most affordable airports. BWI is top 10 and LAX is top 25. On the expensive side, DFW ranks top 10, DTW not far behind, while EWR is most expensive and PHL and ATL are not far behind.
Mgmt wants low sticker price. We dont fly to YMNN because taxes are 50% of the airfare. Doesnt matter that every other airline also has to deal with that cost. They have an idea of what they want for fares, and high costs prohibit that. I surmise the only two real choices for a base at this time, if any, are BWI and LAX. That said, it's also an argument for why ACY works so well. Full planes, lost cost, no phl traffic. LAX is still tough because there's not enough flying in the west to support multiple red eye bases at this time imo. Too inefficient. Add five or six more west coast cities then maybe. Mgmt loves the 1000nm stage length, and bwi is far better positioned to accomodate that given the current network.

Thoughts?

For your health

Maybe. What you’re saying makes sense but there is a huge market (travel destination and large population center) in SoCal and plenty of city pairs out of there that we don’t currently serve as well. Gate space is constrained but if they can pull something out of their hat in regards to gates I could see having a base there. BWI is probably most likely though.

I've heard it first hand from JM that EWR is out of the equation, but if we win this lawsuit and end up with a bunch of prime EWR slots and another gate or two I would think that would probably be reconsidered. Plus there's the LGA expansion. I think in a perfect world they'd close ACY and open both BWI and EWR, but that's probably not the cheapest way to go.

We need more west expansion. PHX for example is the 5th largest city in the US and no one in that city even knows we fly there.

Using city population statistics doesn’t paint a full picture (they separate Dallas & Ft. Worth). You need to look at largest metro areas.

Ok, Phoenix is number 10 by that metric. It is odd how little of a role Spirit plays in the air travel out here.

Yet frontier keeps adding routes out PHX and rumored to be a domicile soon. I don’t understand why we don’t connect Phx to LAS and somewhere in Florida. The connections are very limited with that awful Dallas flight.

I would suggest that the semi affluent retired crowd that makes up much of PHX’s travel crowd isn’t one of our targeted demographics. And that’s who’s largely traveling to PHX when it’s not roasting for half of the year.

Agreed, think the only people clamoring for more PHX flights are people who live in/around PHX.

funny you say that. Obviously anecdotal but my wife’s boss (very affluent.... prominent surgeon) flies to PHX regularly and only flies Spirit. XD