In a head-to-head competition between so-called legacy carriers
-- the old guard, like American, United and Delta -- and low-cost
carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest, you'll never guess who won
the most recent battle.
Yup, the new kids on the block.
Portions of Baltimore-Washington International Airport were
evacuated Monday after a baggage screener was unable to stop a
passenger carrying a knife in a backpack.
Delta Airlines stock has recently dropped below last year's
basement levels. It's debt is now rated as junk and the "B-word" --
bankruptcy -- is being bandied about more and more these days in
the company's Atlanta headquarters.
Delta is in trouble.
Perhaps what Continental Airlines needs is a bigger hammer. The
company's main computer system crashed Sunday, stranding hundreds
of passengers at its Bush Intercontinental hub in Houston (TX) and
nationwide.
This isn't what US Airways CEO David Siegel had been hoping for.
Just months after his airline emerged from bankruptcy, still
limping, the company faces a new threat in one of its biggest hub
markets.
Southwest Airlines is coming.
US Airways now faces competition at the gate from the low-cost
carrier with one of the best reputations in the business. And it
doesn't help that US Airways still carries the highest
cost-per-passenger-mile in the business.
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