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The new ValuJet has a new competitive problem too. When ValuJet launched its low-cost service in Atlanta, incumbent Delta didn't pay much attention. But Delta's service level crumbled as it tried to cut costs, and ValuJet proceeded to inhale market share.
Delta won't make that mistake again. This time it is consistently matching ValuJet's fares out of Atlanta. Delta now has a low-cost airline, Delta Express, to fight ValuJet on its own rock-bottom terms. This is a lesson that the other major airlines have learned in battling upstart competitors, to their considerable profit. Alas, for travelers, the major airlines' profit is the flying public's loss.
--With reporting by Jane Van Tassel/New York