How can Southwest hold monopolies in multiple airports?
When airlines have merged in the past they've had to make concessions to get the federal government to approve the mergers. Southwest and airtran merged and SW has fortresses in Baltimore Chicago Houston and Dallas, with strong grip in orlando. Why didn't the government force southwest to give up gates in these airports? AA made huge concessions. I'm sure if jetblue wanted to merge with spirit the government would say no because of Fort Lauderdale for example, yet southwest is able to dominate airports to extremes. Opinions…
Your expectations of the government are way too high. When Delta got permission to take over Northwest, they promised to keep Memphis as a hub. Then they gradually cut almost all flights to Memphis except for those to Atlanta. The government didn't do a thing. This government, especially, doesn't believe in hindering big businesses from making huge profits at the customers expense.
Most large airlines have hubs in multiple cities.
Historically, Southwest practice was to fly to smaller or less convenient airports.
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