[Speculation] Does AS Need Another Merger to Counter JetBlue & Spirit Combo?
Apr 13, 2022, 9:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SEA, NW/DL 1.6Million Miler
Programs: DL 1MM Annual Silver,AS 100K 22-24, AS 75K 15-21
Posts: 4,278
[Speculation] Does AS Need Another Merger to Counter JetBlue & Spirit Combo?
With Jetblue making another noise on possible merger, this time with Spirit, AS could end up with diminished presence once again. Should Alaska make another move, eg. acquire Frontier, or something similar in maintaining viability?
Jiburi
F9 has fleet of A319/A320/A321. This would create another situation with Airbus fleet..... In addition, F9's DEN hub has two other hub operators, WN and UA. F9 is currently the low fare leader in the market.
Jiburi
F9 has fleet of A319/A320/A321. This would create another situation with Airbus fleet..... In addition, F9's DEN hub has two other hub operators, WN and UA. F9 is currently the low fare leader in the market.
Apr 13, 2022, 11:06 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,391
Apr 13, 2022, 11:21 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Seattle
Programs: Costco Club
Posts: 1,155
I think AS needs to focus on getting back to where they were operationally and work on regaining some credibility and trust among the public first and then yes acquire a Sun Country or something.
Apr 13, 2022, 1:12 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: SEA, PAE, BLI
Programs: WN A-List Preferred, AS, DL Kryptonium
Posts: 1,604
It still seems like AS's biggest challenges revolve around its rejection of DL and possible expansion by WN, which has been eyeing the PNW and Alaska for awhile now to see if it can expand. Add in competition with WN and UA in the Bay Area and AS has a lot to consider beyond a combined NK/F9/B6.
Apr 13, 2022, 1:16 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SEA
Posts: 242
I've still yet to see any benefits or positive outcomes from their last "catch and kill" acquisition.
Was it all for the mood lighting?
I didn't realize WN's Hawaii service size. That seemed like a final refuge for Alaska outside of.....Alaska.
Was it all for the mood lighting?
I didn't realize WN's Hawaii service size. That seemed like a final refuge for Alaska outside of.....Alaska.
Apr 13, 2022, 2:56 pm
#8
Join Date: May 2012
Location: HNL
Programs: AS MVPG, HA Plat
Posts: 1,268
On topic, it would be great for me personally if AS bought HA, but given their recent experiences with DL competition and the VX acquisition, I'm guessing they'd rather stick to organic growth for now.
Apr 13, 2022, 3:46 pm
#11
Formerly known as stellertony
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MEX
Programs: UA Gold, DL Gold, NEXUS, APEC
Posts: 1,146
Apr 13, 2022, 4:51 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: SAN
Programs: AS Mileage Plan 100k, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 991
Considering Frontier and Spirit are merging, that's clearly not where AS is gonna go. FTC would never approve it anyway as you would essentially be eliminating the UUULCC/Bus in the sky market.
B6 makes the most sense.
AA swallowing us up is what's really gonna happen.
B6 makes the most sense.
AA swallowing us up is what's really gonna happen.
Apr 13, 2022, 5:32 pm
#14
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: B6 Mosaic, Bonvoy LT Titanium (x SPG LT), IHG Spire, UA Silver
Posts: 5,848
The rumor for today on airliners is UA making a bid for AS---obviously to be taken with a big grain of salt.
AS has unwittingly boxed themselves into an even smaller corner than they were in back in 2015. They are forced to keep all their focus on SEA to maintain the status quo there and have largely neglected the rest of the network.
In 2015, it was clear that the focus was on AK, SEA, PDX, SJC, LAX, SAN. Anybody in those areas could viably make AS their go-to airline and expect to see gradual expansion of services over time.
If they end up staying as an independent airline that is half the size of B6 after their buyout of NK, where does this leave them? They have not voiced any strategy at all as to where they will concentrate. Have been waiting for 6 years for them to figure it out and they don't seem to have made any progress at all. If anything it is even more unclear than ever.
AS has unwittingly boxed themselves into an even smaller corner than they were in back in 2015. They are forced to keep all their focus on SEA to maintain the status quo there and have largely neglected the rest of the network.
In 2015, it was clear that the focus was on AK, SEA, PDX, SJC, LAX, SAN. Anybody in those areas could viably make AS their go-to airline and expect to see gradual expansion of services over time.
If they end up staying as an independent airline that is half the size of B6 after their buyout of NK, where does this leave them? They have not voiced any strategy at all as to where they will concentrate. Have been waiting for 6 years for them to figure it out and they don't seem to have made any progress at all. If anything it is even more unclear than ever.
Apr 13, 2022, 5:53 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2009
Location: EUG
Programs: AS MVP, AA MM, HH Diamond, MR Gold
Posts: 8,220
In retrospect, do you think AS would have been better off not dumbing down/eliminating Virgin, and kept it as a mainstream/higher end 2-pronged option like Jet Blue is planning to do mainstream/lower end with Spirit?