Originally Posted by
notquiteaff
I think the shareholders wouldn't be thrilled if management didn't deploy its resources in a way that is in the best interest of the shareholders (for what amounts to sentimental reasons).
I don't think there is any significant risk that AS will any time soon face a situation where they would just "pick up and leave", but they aren't a charity for the benefit of the people of Seattle or the PNW.
And Delta, too, has local PNW employees, I believe.
I agree that the shareholders wouldn't be thrilled if management didn't deploy their resources wisely. That said, you're not going to see AA leaving DFW anytime soon. UA isn't leaving ORD and DL isn't leaving ATL. AS isn't leaving SEA either. I don't see a scenario where AS would make SEA secondary to any other city in their system. DL, on the other hand, can pull back to the same type of operation they have in MEM and CVG. Flights to all the hubs with a few additional flights to some larger cities. It's not out of the realm of possibility. I think, as long as AS is in business you're going to see it's primary focus city/hub in SEA. The Sea-Tac airport stands to lost a lot more by AS pulling up stakes and leaving then if DL does. And the likelihood of DL scaling back, while slim, is far greater than AS doing same.