"beavis" wrote in message
...
In article , Jimbo
Minn wrote:

Who the hell cares!! It's airlines like this that have ruined it for the
big IMPORTANT carriers.

Uh-huh. Those "big IMPORTANT" carriers have a business model that
*depends* on soaking the last-minute business traveler for as much as
they can squeeze out of him. With internet pricing searches, it
doesn't work anymore.

That doesn't hod anymore. There IS a market for an airline that still
offers "value." Thus, AirTran's Business Class, for example, or America
West's First Class upgrades, or Continental's still providing food service.
Compare some of the "majors," like American, Delta andNorthwest, for
example, which have removed all elements of civility by removing meals,
pillows, magazines, and now even pretzels/peanuts, with some of the LCC's
which still provide some amenities in the U.S.

Southwest is profitable WITHOUT a government bailout. You prefer your
tax money to subsidize corporations?

America West and US Airways received government guaranteed loans. The other
carriers haven't. And that includes American and United, the two airlines
whose airplanes were commandeered on 9/11.

Those mangie 737's would plummet into the ocean not far for
the shoreline!!

depends on the version. The 737-NG's have transoceanic range. Check Air
Pacific from Vancouver to Honolulu and Aloha from the U.S. West Coast and
Vancouver to Honolulu, Maui, and Kona.

Southwest has one of the youngest jet fleets in the industry. Would
you prefer a Northwest DC-9 built in 1968, or a Southwest 737-700,
built in this century?

Several years ago, Northwest completely re-built their DC9 fleet, bringing
them back to "zero time" configuration. The airplanes may not be new, but
they aren't "old" either.