a fat panda

Why Airline Mergers Don't Work: Scale Is Not a Blessing

I think that you are comparing apples and oranges when you compare Delta and Southwest. They serve very different markets, and face different levels of competition.

Management/culture is just not the same. Herb Kelleher was a brilliant leader, where as Delta has been run into the ground by idiots. Your point is part of why Kelleher is so great - he didn't chase growth by acquisition. But that is a reflection of his leadership, not the totality of why LUV has beaten every other airline into the ground.

Here is a stat that I have never seen duplicated. In the time that I lived in Dallas, I never knew a single employee who didn't love the company. Can you say that about any other corporation?