With American and Delta increasingly matching Spirit's low fares, Southwest will find it difficult to maintain any low-fare advantage that it still has. Still, Southwest has a lot going for it and its growth opportunities both within the U.S. and internationally are abundant.
An independent lifestyle hotel collection specifically geared for corporate meetings seems like an inspired idea. The challenges include building brand awareness and convincing corporate procurement departments to work with independent hotels.
The point IATA makes is that airlines do benefit from and are interested in having happy customers. Schaaf says that proof of the pudding is in the airlines which pay good money to buy this report from the Association.
JFK's terminal 5 shouldn't be an exception to other terminals across the U.S. and JetBlue's able to do a lot of surprise and delight with its own space as it continues bridging the gap between the pre- and in-flight experience.