I suspect AC is drinking a little of the UA/Patrick Quayle Kool-aide and more willing to test routes but on a short leash and willing to pull them if the loads/RASM isn't where they forecasted.

As (according to the Internets) M. Murdoch once said: "It's not the biggest companies that survive, it's the most adaptable to change."

With the world in flux, agility is key.