I specifically said the "shuttle"-type routes, by which I meant routes where the same aircraft is used back and forth all day between two relatively nearby cities (flying time ~1 hour) with very fast scheduled turns. (e.g. SAN-OAK) This leaves no time for bad weather, problems loading/unloading the aircraft, etc. I'd love to see, for example, the on time departure percentage for Southwest just for one of these routes in isolation. I think you'd be in for quite a surprise.

I agree that AA is going to have the same problems trying to operate these new DAL routes. My sarcastic comment about the Southwest Effect was meant to imply that it doesn't just bring down the prices, it also forces the competition to use some of the less desirable operational practices that allow Southwest to offer those low prices.

The one thing that Southwest does have in its favor is that their union contract lets the FAs clean the aircraft, unlike AA's. By the time the last passenger has exited, the Southwest FAs have (in my experience) finished cleaning the aircraft and it's ready to roll for boarding the next flight. If AA doesn't replicate this, they're going to be even further in the hole than Southwest is on these fast turn time routings.