Originally Posted by
dtremit
I think the question is whether PHX still has enough critical mass once you draw off the inter-Mountain West traffic -- and once the LAX traffic US carries through PHX today starts taking non-stops. It's notable that DL doesn't have a SFO equivalent, and UA hasn't long had a DFW equivalent. (And indeed, the balance between IAH and DEN will be interesting to watch.)
DL does, kinda, split between SEA/LAX, with AS/QX playing the role of providing feed as a pseudo-regional subsidiary.
Fun fact: DL has more TPAC/TATL destinations out of SEA than AA has out of LAX.
Originally Posted by
dtremit
There is a long, long history of airlines walking away from western hubs -- those of AirCal, Reno Air, Western (at LAX), Hughes AirWest, and PSA, to name a few. I'd hate to see it happen again; having the option of connecting on the west coast is something I appreciate.
Well, like I said, if the combined entity won't serve PHX domestically (and no, flying people to LAX or DFW to connect doesn't count), WN or someone (NK, G4, AS, whoever) would jump on it like a hungry dog on a T-bone steak. WN is already #2 and serves a ton of places out of PHX.
This isn't some hub where there's no O/D to support the hub traffic if the hub goes away. (Of note, after US coughed up LAS, WN is now the largest operator there.)