To answer a few remarks:
CA1900
It's not that we don't hate the RJs (well maybe on runs longer than 3 hours). I have done my share of non-reving/deadheading/jumpseating like everyone else when I flew for the regionals. Been there done that...but a little room & some extra perks would be nice once in a while when you have to travel on business.
Sacha
I don't live or work in ATL (Virginia actually). Up until 5 years ago, I never really did business travel except for the above mentioned stuff.
Why Citrus for personal travel first & not Delta?
We live & fly out of cities where Southwest does not currently fly but Citrus does. Citrus is pulling out of PHF next year & SWA serves ORF but has no plans to go into PHF after the merger (makes sense with ORF/PHF only 15 miles apart). Citrus also flies out of RIC. No word from SWA yet on their plan for RIC. Having Citrus in both the RIC & PHF markets has been a huge benefit for air travelers. The competition has kept fares reasonable, service excellent & yes, the other carriers has matched prices.
For our personal needs, Citrus is the only carrier that provides nonstops in the PHF-BOS market that we frequent. The fares in the PHF-BOS market were much lower than flying out of RIC-BOS for a time UNTIL Jetblue started serving RIC-BOS. I’ll throw in a plug for Jetblue @ RIC. Another LCC that has helped to keep the fares low especially on the RIC-BOS market. Even without first class, we like from a passenger perspective B6’s all coach setup, especially on the E190 with its 2x2 seating, TV & XM. Conveniently living between RIC & PHF is an added bonus. Delta also serves both airports. Air Tran may serve us well in one market but Delta serves us better in another, ECP (vacation home #2). We fly to ECP 2-3 times a year & The Big D provides the better choice. We could fly to PNS on Citrus but have no where to park the “Beach Buggy” like we do @ ECP. WN goes to ECP but we would have to drive to either BWI (3 hours) or ORF (1.4 hours+) to get the cheaper fare but pay for gas to drive there which is out of the question per Mrs. Soprano. For us, plane size doesn’t really matter, but having first/business class can make all the difference for some travelers that can afford it like we can & choose to pay for.
On the business side…
Now that I fly corporate all over the planet, my company prefers we fly First/Business especially on the long hauls when deadheading or on biz travel. It’s their nickel, their policy. Their philosophy is it's a justified expense that makes their crews safer with less fatigue issues & maybe a little happier.
As for wifey, she frequents MSY, SAT, DFW, BOS & MCI in her work & equally flies between AAL, DAL & ATI. She likes Citrus. Why, I don’t know. Ask her… she’s a chick, not a pilot like me. Her company allows her to fly First/Business as one of her perks & they can afford it. FYI, her company uses NJI too, but for the really big dogs, not her. She has FF miles on all 3 carriers & has enough miles to go JFK-Pluto 5 round-trips first class on a 767-300 with the General as SIC.
But with the merger, a great airline will be phased out leaving business travelers with one less choice regardless if coach or first. In our circumstance, SWA is right now out of the equation when it comes to air travel by default in RIC. Even if SWA decides to stay in RIC post merger & offers low fares to ATL & beyond or serve other markets, then game on, sans First Class. Point is that there is still a demand for first/business class travel and the business market in coach is still there. SWA does it in one class on a 737 and most of the legacy carriers mix and match between regional and mainline equipment. It’s customers’ choice.
SWA is a good business model for what it does, but does it really serve the upper end of business travel and those who prefer 1st class? NO.
Does that answer the questions?
