Who wants Airtran?

[Lowrider717]

Egggzactly right.

Make your product so much better than the LCC's that you CAN charge $30-$50 more per ticket and stay profitable.

Let the LCC's have their low-fare market, keep a decent share of the business traveler and higher-end traveler in that market, and go on about your business.

...

This was the model prior to 9/11. Then in one day it all changed.

 

[CatfishVT9]

Not so fast my friend.

Another example: When Airtran announced service to LA and SFO, Delta added 4 additional 767 flights to those destinations. Another 1000 folks needed to fly there every day day? I don't think so.

What year? 2003

 

[FL_Jumpseat]

From the Burlington Free Press on 5/2/08:

Merger talks have become increasingly common in the U.S. airline industry, but Fornaro said AirTran has no interest in merging with another airline.

"Most of those larger carriers are just too big ... so they have to do something about it," he said, noting that after consolidation redundant capacity is eliminated. "We, and a handful of others, can go it alone."

If the price of oil continues to sell for nearly $120 a barrel, the industry will adapt by reducing capacity and, eventually, raising fares. "It doesn't happen in a week or a month. It happens over time," Fornaro said.

 

[PCL_128]

I hope he's right. Going it alone is by far my first choice. I just wonder whether we can really make it work if consolidation goes widespread and we end up smaller than just about everybody else. Time will tell.