[awongh]

I thought this was a good take: https://youtu.be/rslcr774JXM?si=KzjiSwC3hBE14zLZ

Basically the economies of scale and different route topography (hub & spoke vs. distributed) that powered low cost airlines in the past doesn't work anymore. It doesn't account for the basic fact that the bigger airlines have more cashflow and can outspend the smaller ones where the low-cost passengers don't have any brand loyalty.

Now it's a race to the bottom because the only way these kinds of airlines can survive is more cost cutting and a few more dollars of revenue per passenger.

One interesting aspect that is touched upon in the video is also that airports are basically municipally-run real estate monopolies for the airlines. The big carriers capture airports in the 6 biggest national markets (or geographic centers) and use the monopoly to punish the other carriers. In most places it's near impossible to expand or diversify airport capacity- it takes many decades.

[raw_anon_1111]

Also the major airlines - especially Delta are subsidized by credit card spend. Not only their cobranded cards. But when points credit card users trade points in for airline miles.

Then the major airlines have a lot of business travelers where they are using other people’s money.