Good points. That said, if JB intends to stay single into the forseeable future (i.e., no merger with a smaller or bigger airline), and growth is critical to Wall Street on a quarterly basis, can you tell me which West Coast locations could serve as potential places for future growth (i.e., no slot constraints like at LGB)?
West Coast is a huge, untapped market for JB - even with its LGB mini-hub. Seems like DEN could provide a place to grow with fewer slot considerations (and acquiring F9 would reduce competitors by one). I ain't making predictions - it just seems like LAX, PHX, LAS, SFO, SEA, SAN and PDX don't offer much in terms of capacity growth opportunities. Maybe ONT (not many slot constraints) could work
IF West Coast growth is important? Who knows....
My Guess on our future next 7-8 years:
LAX/SFO - Mexico (thats my guess, we are at international gates in both now)
NYC/BOS- Carribean (Belize, Trinidad, Antigua, St Croix, Fort O France)
BOS - Buisness Markets (DFW, ATL, CVG, CLE, STL)
BOS - Thinner Leisure ( SAV, CHS )
SJU - Buisness/Pleasure (Cali, Medellin, AUA, STI, BGI, etc)
MCO - Buisness/Pleasure (PVD, ALB, PIT)
MCO/FLL - Deep South (Medellin, Cali, Panama City, Guatamala City, Lima, Quito)
Point to point Carribean ( BDL - STI, SJU, SDQ... SJU - IAD, BWI )
Any DCA slots we can get ahold of and fly to Florida.
Also, we are still trying to get the 190 into LGB under the RJ slots, lets see how well they do persuading them.
Needless to say, this is all a guess, but all these destinations are likely on the radar, and I am sure there are a lot more that I can't think off. There are lots of potential markets for us to enter, especially in the era of M&A's where the legacys will likely consolidate a bit.