In a message dated 2/27/2004 12:00:52 PM US Mountain Standard Time, DEmocrat2n@xxxxxxx writes: > And it was 1978 when the industry deregulated and WN experienced its true > growth. 1982 was the big expansion year, when they hit CA, PHX, LAS and their > other honey pots. Seems to me like Herb was the influence. And also, as > one of the owners, I think he had a lot to do with what we could not see Actually Southwest was very cautious in taking advantage of deregulation. Their niche at DAL worked very well thank you, so why follow the suicidal lead of Braniff by over expanding and over extending? While Herb is revered as a flamboyant aviation leader, he never went nilly willy into markets where Southwest's success was not virtually assured. Yes he pulled out of DEN and SFO, but not because Southwest was losing money in those cities. He pulled out because delays negatively impacted Southwest's ability to arrive on time and maximize aircraft utilization. That's what loses money. In this regard, Herb's brillance is even brighter when compared to the dim wits in charge of other airlines. RT Simpson Phoenix