International Routes are all the Rage

I have posted several times that the trend will be for legacy carrier in the US to build their international routes. Seriously, I said it here, here and even way back here and here. Why? First, they don't have much in the way of competition from low cost carriers. They are competing with other legacy carriers so the playing field is mostly level. Second, international routes have a better profit margin right now when compared to domestic routes where they face intense competition from low cost carriers.

China is one of the big battle grounds for international expansion. Not surprisingly the list of competitors is exclusively made up of legacy carriers. Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines are all making their cases to the government (and the public) on why they should be chosen for new China routes that are will be awarded. The Cranky Flier has a really nice summary of how this competition is lining up and who may have an advantage. Go check it out.