We're not talking about which is the better run business.........we're talking about size
Passenger miles is size. Profits are both better run and size. Revenue is both. Market Cap is both and is often used as a measurement of size. With passenger miles (so far in 2015, and almost as large in 2014) and market cap bigger than United, Southwest has made the big three in to the big four. SW is a lot bigger than Jet Blue, Alaska, Frontier etc. by all of those measures, bigger than any two I think, maybe bigger than all three by some.
And American, Delta, and United have twice the revenue as SW.
If it was 10x, or even 5x you would have a point. Twice is not a big enough difference esp with Southwest being third in size by the other measures.
Also since your issue is about the profitability of the airlines, profit matters more then it would otherwise. If all airlines but one lost money, but that one had the most incredible margins anyone has every seen, the industry as a whole might still be profitable.
For several years now the industry as a whole has been profitable. Over the very long run, it is very slightly profitable, in between there are different time frames you can pick where the industry either makes money or loses money. Generally its one of the least profitable and stable large industries. But that's still a lot better then long distance rail which generally loses money all the time. |
