And that was the case going into the UA-CO merger. UA and CO both had strong performance, while DL was a laggard. CO brought New York to UA, and IAH is pretty captive, so those are both good assets, to UA's hubs at top markets. CO was weak where UA was strong (Asia, West Coast). UA was weak where CO was strong (Northeast, Latin, Europe secondary destinations).

On paper, this was supposed to be one powerhouse airline -- the best route network, the best hubs, etc. But they got too greedy, cut too deep, and thought that customers had no other choices. They did. Now

Smisek was one of the best things that happened to DL over the past 5 years.