Originally Posted by Gargoyle

And it's a huge difference. The LCC's like WN can cherry pick, only go to the most lucrative markets. The legacies have to maintain a very broad network. You see this happening with the small medical diagnostic clinics- they get the high profit and often direct pay prodecures, whereas hospitals have to do everying, including taking in indigent patients. It's like how, in the early days, FedEx could kick the Post Offices derrier- the PO had to cover every address and give every type of service, whereas FedEx could just cherry pick the most lucrative niche. Similar analogies in lots of businesses.

That's why DL can't structure their business plan to compete with LCC's; that would be a race to the bottom. They have to instead create a unique brand/product which the LCC's can't compete with.