I don't think the 727 is good for much of anything but Cargo. It was a good
plane in the regulated era but burns to damn much gas, has too many crew and
too many engines to be good for an efficient opperation. I agree that the
DC-9 series is good for YX's opperation, but except for the 717, they look
old. Only AS and AA have good color schemes for the plane (well JetsGo
maybe), and only really AS's planes look really good. I think if Boeing were
to build the 300, like AirTran said they want, LH is interested in, and YX
would certainly buy, then it would be really good, but as it is, people see
them as old. This is especially true in LA, where we get AeroCalifornia -15s
that have curtains instead of shades on the windows.
As far as MKE, it has many problems. It has very little O&D traffic, it
is too close to ORD, and more importantly the other low fares at MDW, is
prone to snow problems, and is not somewhere people think of when flying
places. MCI is a good idea, as they seem to think as well, IND is not bad
but ATA and WN already have a lot of traffic there. I think MSY would be a
good place to set up a hub. Relatively central (if a bit South), big town,
both business and tourist traffic.