CEO of Spirit Airlines Abruptly Replaced
- Thread starter HRDiva
- Start date
Xcaliber
El Chupacabra
The first two I could see. Southwest/Alaska? No way. The only similarity between the two is that they fly 737s. With entirely different clientele, business models, history, etc, that'd be way too much of a shift for either airline's boards to accept. Although,I've been known to say that nothing is impossible in aviation.
Amen to the last line, though.
Oh man, if SWA purchases Alaska, it's going to be awesome to snap up all those markets that Alaska is competing with Delta on. It's a "service market" and Alaska is a worthy adversary.
Eagle421flyer
Well-Known Member
The DOJ won't let SWA,DAL, AA or UAL merge with anyone else since they already did their mergers. My guess is Frontier, but then again thats been my guess since I started here, I'm just hoping it holds off another year or so.
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
The problem with buying your competition is there is always another startup that can do it cheaper.
The successful carriers are those who have carved out their brand. JetBlue, Virgin, SWA, Delta, yes even Spirit. The yellow planes were a great choice for them!
The ones who struggle and stagnate have no real brand.
Nark
Macho Superpilot
I'm hoping for at least 18 months for the same reason you are.
GL/DAL
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
I'd like jetBlue + Virgin. Young enough airlines that a SLI shouldn't be too ugly. 
Good route structure with VX's Hawaii stuff, strong west coast presence, DCA/LGA/JFK slots, and DAL exclusiveness with SWA (Delta lawsuit pending). jetBlue rules the east coast, BOS/JFK, Florida, Carib/islands, and up/down flying everywhere. Similar A320s except different engines. jetBlue was "NewCo" initially and Branson was in talks with Neeleman back in the day to have Virgin USA be what is NewCo and became jetBlue instead. IMO, a Virgin/jetBlue merger makes the most sense, along with a Frontier/Spirit merger.
Good route structure with VX's Hawaii stuff, strong west coast presence, DCA/LGA/JFK slots, and DAL exclusiveness with SWA (Delta lawsuit pending). jetBlue rules the east coast, BOS/JFK, Florida, Carib/islands, and up/down flying everywhere. Similar A320s except different engines. jetBlue was "NewCo" initially and Branson was in talks with Neeleman back in the day to have Virgin USA be what is NewCo and became jetBlue instead. IMO, a Virgin/jetBlue merger makes the most sense, along with a Frontier/Spirit merger.
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
ZapBrannigan
If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
You guys assuming that SW will sit idly by and allow a powerful competitor to manifest through merger... I'm no businessman, but I kind of suspect they won't.
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
They may not have a choice. They hold no poison pill over either company and may well be blocked from inserting themselves into the equation by the DOJ or DOT. I heard pizza parties only work on the FAA.
FloridaLarry
Well-Known Member
When they gobbled up AirTran, they had that option and elected not to. True, it may have been a number of PAX / airframe issue, since SWA flies a lot of very full 737s. More likely: SWA starts using a larger airframe to continue growth.
But I'll bet that those same Boe-glas airframes in DAL colors are nibbling away at market share at some SWA stations.
Since SWA flies two, soon to be three, types of 737s, only certain types of ADs could ground the entire fleet. This issue hasn't bothered Alaska, Virgin, Frontier, and a pile of Regionals.
grkero
fer yer health
I don't see that happening based on branding conflict. Those are two very strong brands, so what would take precedence?I'd like jetBlue + Virgin. Young enough airlines that a SLI shouldn't be too ugly.
Good route structure with VX's Hawaii stuff, strong west coast presence, DCA/LGA/JFK slots, and DAL exclusiveness with SWA (Delta lawsuit pending). jetBlue rules the east coast, BOS/JFK, Florida, Carib/islands, and up/down flying everywhere. Similar A320s except different engines. jetBlue was "NewCo" initially and Branson was in talks with Neeleman back in the day to have Virgin USA be what is NewCo and became jetBlue instead. IMO, a Virgin/jetBlue merger makes the most sense, along with a Frontier/Spirit merger.
mastermags
Well-Known Member *giggity*
Generally the acquiring company... Though they could just got the United way and write their name on to someone else's logo
ZapBrannigan
If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
Brand is more than just the paint job on the airplane or the logo behind the ticket counter. That's why I don't believe that a SW / jetBlue merger could ever take place.
JetBlue is an aspirational brand. People want to fly on them and then they want to "tweet" about it and talk about how "hip" and cool it is to do so. That demographic is typically young, professional, and extremely tech savvy. A company like SW could purchase jetBlue, but won't necessarily capture that market share. Those same people - Target shoppers - wouldn't be caught dead in a Walmart.
Legacy products, at least in the US, are virtually interchangeable with regard to product and the 'pain factor'. For better or worse JetBlue and Virgin have distinguished themselves and set themselves apart from the crowd. They provide that better class of service to even their lowest paying customer. That is not something that can be purchased. That customer is too fickle and must be earned.
JetBlue is an aspirational brand. People want to fly on them and then they want to "tweet" about it and talk about how "hip" and cool it is to do so. That demographic is typically young, professional, and extremely tech savvy. A company like SW could purchase jetBlue, but won't necessarily capture that market share. Those same people - Target shoppers - wouldn't be caught dead in a Walmart.
Legacy products, at least in the US, are virtually interchangeable with regard to product and the 'pain factor'. For better or worse JetBlue and Virgin have distinguished themselves and set themselves apart from the crowd. They provide that better class of service to even their lowest paying customer. That is not something that can be purchased. That customer is too fickle and must be earned.
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
They may not have a choice. They hold no poison pill over either company and may well be blocked from inserting themselves into the equation by the DOJ or DOT. I heard pizza parties only work on the FAA.
Does Delta still have that option available to them concerning Alaska?
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
grkero
fer yer health
Well, one is red and the other is blue.
I don't see the Virgin Group wanting to give up their name on the American airline they have. They have hundreds of companies that carry that branding, and having the Virgin name on a domestic airline in the United States seems like something with a high impact on their marketing. This is assuming that if JB/VA merged, it would carry the JetBlue name.
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
Well, one is red and the other is blue.
I don't see the Virgin Group wanting to give up their name on the American airline they have. They have hundreds of companies that carry that branding, and having the Virgin name on a domestic airline in the United States seems like something with a high impact on their marketing. This is assuming that if JB/VA merged, it would carry the JetBlue name.
Virgin America + jetBlue = virgin Blue