magman4x4

I always notice those two Virgin A319's at those gates that NEVER seem to move lol.

lougord99

This country has a lot of problems, and many of them stem from your view that 'anyone who disagrees with me is an idiot'.

I have no intention of arguing, yet again, the pros and cons of Southwest Airlines. What I absolutely insist upon is that I ( and the plurality of the flying public ) have very good reasons to fly Southwest and that you may not dismiss my intelligence without challenge.

beyondhere

With Southwest having a lot of frequent fliers in California, I wonder if Southwest will start LAX/SFO-SEA, LAX/SFO-FLL/MCO?

It'd put some competitive pressure on those routes and WN also has plans to build FLL and it's large on the MCO side.

There will be a contested battle in California, with a lot of intra-West overlap against WN routes.

diver858

Who suggested the term Koolaid drinker is related to intelligence?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...k+the+kool-aid
Never my intent.

nsx

Here's an idea: Trust the readers to discern whose opinion they wish to take seriously. Our readers are just as smart as the writers, and very often smarter. I don't think any of us uncritically accepts any corporate line, nor would any of commit suicide on the request of a charismatic but insane leader.

It works both ways. Ask anyone at Southwest and you will see that they have a very conflicted opinion about FlyerTalkers. That would be true with any airline or hotel company. At first the company sees us as demon customers, then they gradually see that our perspective might have value in some circumstances. They still probably wish we didn't exist!

darthbimmer

It's for this reason I think the AS-VX merger will be good for me, as a primarily West Coast flyer. More choices on regional flights up and down the West Coast, soon to be integrated with more mid-cons and transcons.

toomanybooks

Yes. I read that the price paid was 90% more than the market cap of 2 weeks ago.

Somebody was wrong.

hazelrah

I seem to recall that when Verizon did it's FiOS expansion there where all kinds of naysayers, and the naysaying continues today. The Verizon CEO said something along the lines of, "This is something the company has to do".

Survival is not assured in business, and Alaska's survival as a "boutique" airline was not assured. Alaska needs to get larger to compete more effectively against the legacies and yes, Southwest too.

hazelrah

It's clear you have an axe to grind, and perhaps justifiably so. Your logical error is to universalize your California experience to other markets.

Other parts of the Southwest network are quite price vibrant, especially DAL from what I gather. Thank heaven for Southwest at MKE to keep the legacy pricing under control.

Hope the Alaska purchase of Virgin works out for you.

hazelrah

Look, this is silly. The only thing Delta is ever going to do at DAL is provide expanded beaucoup service to it's hubs, which only serves to solidify it's grasp on its fortress hubs.

That's why the DoT ruled that competition is not served by the gates going to a legacy.

sdsearch

Verizon is getting rid of all that. They just sold their non-wireless operations in Los Angeles to Frontier Communications, both landlines and FIOS included. (They may doing it many other places, I dunno, I just know they just transferred me to Frontier Communications this month.) Luckily, Frontier Communications has nothing to do with Frontier Airlines !

suranyi

It depends. "Intra-California" encompasses a variety of different routes. I would be happy, but very surprised, if the combined entity enters the OAK-BUR market, and that's one I fly quite often. So most likely I'll have to continue to fly WN intra-California for some time.

smmrfld

Non-story for me. If/when OAK/BUR or OAK/SNA are added, I'll pay more attention.

wlau

WN is becoming the worst airline in the US. I don't know what all the happy ones are smoking... AS-VX merger is the best thing for us west coast people. It keeps WN in check because god knows we need competition on the west coast. I had my A-list, A-Pref and CP not because I like WN but because I didn't have a choice.

WN is constantly late, FAs dress and act unprofessionally. Even the lightest bump in the air cause WN to cease beverage service. I was once on a cross country flight with no more than 30-40 between flights. It was either give up my early boarding or get a drink. I asked for second cup of water onboard but FA said no that they were preparing for landing... we were 40 minutes to landing... On AS, they'd keep serving you until 5-10 minute before landing...

The merger will strengthen AS to fend off the evils of WN. It also gives me more international choices as AS's partners offer many options between LAX, SFO, SEA and PDX.

I am happy to give up A+ for AS Gold.... Also AS services better and healthier snacks than the over salted peanuts. AS is ranked higher than WN for many rightful reasons.

I just hope the cultural difference between AS and VX can be well blended and adjusted.

nsx

That's for sure. Bring back UA Express, which matched WN's fares and its no change fee policy.