Originally Posted by
Kacee
Sold them to AA IIRC. So this result was all too predictable.
Yup, but in fairness, during the Smisek regime, there was no fathoming the idea that UA could compete in an ultra-competitive market like LAX. So the only reason to have kept the gates at the time that decision was made would be because of some hope that the same business model that had been failing them by eroding customers over the past 3 years would somehow miraculously turn around. In other words, they'd have to bet against past performance.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Given that the regime could not compete, and with no light at the end of the tunnel, cutting losses for some cash was not a bad move given the circumstances.
Originally Posted by
Kacee
Second biggest market in the country and UA is letting it just slip away.
As for LAX, it's too late to offset the damage. DL has turned the place into a respectable hub over the last several years, and they're about to expand further. AA has also expanded, all while UA locked themselves in a corner.
Even if Oscar and crew see it now (or in fairness, they saw it all along but were stifled by the Smisek regime), it's too late. What more can they do to recover?
Originally Posted by
CO FF
With DL signing an LOI to renovate & move to T2/T3, allowing AA to expand to both T4 and T5, I'd be interested in seeing whether AA is willing to abandon the "Eagle's Nest" RJ terminal just east of T8; if so, that would be a great way for UA to expand at LAX for relatively low capital cost...
In an ultra-competitive hub market like LAX, nobody relinquishes space unless A) they have to; or B) they're stupid.