The problem is the trailer park traveler will only pay so much to fly before they decide its to expensive. Tickets over $159 are going to decrease your loads.
SWA is not a premium brand.
Starbucks charges $4 dollars a cup and gets it. McD's could never sell a $4 cup of coffee even if it was the same kind of coffee.
Now a company like Virgin USA, has the potential to be a premium brand and could charge a four digit fare without offending its core consumer.
SWA is a low three digit cap. High four digits make money even with $100 oil.
jumpseat home last week, (thank you SWA) ,sitting between two business women,who work for top drawer companies ,flying for business on SWA,and happy with the product, the demographics of the entire manifest probably covered the spectrum from Gucci to K-mart, EVERYBODY seems to fly on them,everybody seems to like it. the numbers speak for themselves.