Originally Posted by
Snowdevil
AS is in the business of attracting and retaining new customers, and that's done through great service and low fares. They're not about to turn a blind eye to the East Coast, where new growth opportunities await, especially when the transcons from LAX and SFO are the crown jewels of the VX system, with long stage lengths that bring CASM down in the process.
AS didn't buy VX so they could turn off the Boston/New York/Washington end of that business - that would be insane!
That really remains to be seem. Could very well end up as nearly every other California carrier that was taken over-with very little to show for it. AS already has two partners (AA/DL) which fly LAX/SFO-JFK. AA/DL also now have a large presence in SFO-LAX and obviously AA has a hub in ORD to cover SFO/LAX-ORD. AS does not need VX's flights to SEA/PDX/PSP as they already cover them with adequate frequency. The in perimeter slots at LGA/DCA are also nearly useless to AS as is the mini hub at DAL. This does not even begin to account for the fact that AS won't be able to operate any part of VX without the employees given the incompatible fleets. Most of those people can make more working at another airline--especially for those that bought stock during the IPO who cashed out this week and have a nice nest egg to cover the transition to a new employer. If your primary reason for working at VX because of excitement of working for what was a start up, going to a quasi legacy carrier that is fairly conservative and not very innovative may not be all that attractive.
Given that the points with Comenity are no longer posting automatically perhaps some people have already chosen to take the money and run--which would be a smart thing to do.
AS's management got caught up in the excitement of the bidding and really did not think things through carefully.