Thats all fine and good but if you dont invest in the people who provide the service the customer will likely be dissapointed.They need to invest in new aircraft to a.) remain competitive and b.) get rid of those mad-dogs that consume too much fuel. SO, in the long run that's a savings.
They need to keep their product fresh and competitive. Especially if it will pay for itself in a given period of time (which I'm sure they've crunched the numbers to figure this out).
I'd like to go for Solar Panels because over the long run they would save me money and help the enviornment but I dont have the money to do that. I dont even have enough to keep the house I want to put them on. At AA they are putting wingletts on airplanes and buying more fuel efficient aircraft which is all well and good but not a valid excuse as to why I should be willing to pay for it by going another two years without an increase.