Introduction
The U.S. airline industry continues to be fiercely competitive, due to a combination of rising costs, increased government regulation, fluctuating macroeconomic conditions, and increasingly price sensitive consumers (Southwest Airlines, 2016a). Environmental pressures have led to several mergers and acquisitions within the industry, including major carriers as well as regional and domestic carriers (Southwest Airlines, 2016a). Low-cost domestic airline carriers that offer non-stop service to popular domestic and tourist destinations within North America have emerged as formidable competitors to large, international carriers such as United Airlines. Southwest Airlines and Allegiant Air are two carriers that focus on variations of the ...
