I have no doubt, that U can become competetive and that they can beat SWA. The question is, at what cost to the employees? It is no secret, he with the lowest CASM wins, unless you can exact higher ticket revenue. With the way things stand now, the answer is no on etting more per ticket, except in a few markets, so that will not carry U. Then it must be done by productivity increases, reduction in wages and furloughs, basically with Siegel said. Again, the question is, how much will the employees have to accept, it will not be SWA pay, not HP, not jetBlue, it sounds like it will be even less.
Secondly, the question is, whether he succeded in making SWA the enemy and not himself. Of course, only the individual viewer can make that determination.
If he is sincere, then as of today, he will settle all grievances expeditiously. He will forfeit the golden parachute and sign the contract he said he would, as well as reducing management salaries. This cannot be done, once all the Union employees are onboard, he must lead this change. Speaking of change, as of today, there should and must be visible changes. The time is now!
Best of luck!