Originally Posted by
jamesteroh
IIRC Delta has the best paid FA's in the industry. WN also posted a loss for Q3. They had a big cost advantage for years with their fuel hedges. If WN's costs are lower than Deltas then their fares should be reflecting that as well.
There are other ways a non-union company can stay competitive as well. Look at all the petty complaints the AFA filed such as no size 28 designer dresses and not being able to use carts in first class. Stuff like that costs an employer money.
WN and Jet Blue and F9 are also going to have lower costs than Delta seeing they don't have catering expenses, they don't have the expense of lounges, they don't have gates at some of the more expensive airports like ORD and JFK, they don't provide international service.....
I often see airline personnel on the LIRR. Not sure if some are pilots/first officers or flight attendents and the like. Some are very professionally dressed which is very nice to see. These personnel would be out of JFK and I guess a lot of personnel make use of the Air Train since it is very convenient.
Southwest and JetBlue really don't cater to the business class traveller.
Delta picks up a lot of these business class travellers I must say across the board.