This article from Dallas Business Journal explores possibilities including JetBlue, Alaska, and (oh, please God, NO) Spirit.
As Spirit is 100% Airbus, it would certainly speed up any desire to diversify the aircraft mix. However, if even some of the stories I have heard about Spirit are true, integrating Spirit employees into the Southwest corporate culture seems to be an insurmountable task.
Alaska would be interesting. It is almost exclusively Boeing, but does have some Airbus equipment. Enough for WN to claim it had diversified? Don't know. Potential problem: Alaska has enormous brand loyalty in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Messing with the "hometown airline" may have negative impact on existing local customer base.
I don't really have a dog in this hunt. Discuss.
https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/11/04/southwest-airlines-acquisition.html?ana=e_me_set1&j=90172241&t=Morning&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTVRVd09XSXpOekEzTkdVeiIsInQiOiJ1SVhQZG5DK1wvRGhPTDBQZHNIXC9xSFlxdTZERk1wRFwvVDhxS3RqUzI3QVN6QkhpN0h6SkFTWUZzR2dUMUo4K3d5RENON3loNUdSRnJjM25aaUthb3NcLzRFbmUwbEUrVnlCNE5Xdm42OU1wUzk5Z01RZU5MVEl3cGRVT1lMNks5NGZJbzg3SXJIVXZQZzJUd2lpTGVIclRRPT0ifQ==
As Spirit is 100% Airbus, it would certainly speed up any desire to diversify the aircraft mix. However, if even some of the stories I have heard about Spirit are true, integrating Spirit employees into the Southwest corporate culture seems to be an insurmountable task.
Alaska would be interesting. It is almost exclusively Boeing, but does have some Airbus equipment. Enough for WN to claim it had diversified? Don't know. Potential problem: Alaska has enormous brand loyalty in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Messing with the "hometown airline" may have negative impact on existing local customer base.
I don't really have a dog in this hunt. Discuss.
https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/11/04/southwest-airlines-acquisition.html?ana=e_me_set1&j=90172241&t=Morning&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTVRVd09XSXpOekEzTkdVeiIsInQiOiJ1SVhQZG5DK1wvRGhPTDBQZHNIXC9xSFlxdTZERk1wRFwvVDhxS3RqUzI3QVN6QkhpN0h6SkFTWUZzR2dUMUo4K3d5RENON3loNUdSRnJjM25aaUthb3NcLzRFbmUwbEUrVnlCNE5Xdm42OU1wUzk5Z01RZU5MVEl3cGRVT1lMNks5NGZJbzg3SXJIVXZQZzJUd2lpTGVIclRRPT0ifQ==
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