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Maybe its not competitive advantage against other airlines but is definitely competitive advantage against other forms of transport. If they can reduce cost they can reduce price and this may result in growth of the market. It will also increase the supply of human resources which would make fast market expansion possible.

I don't know about the security implications but I'm inclined to believe that lowering costs is good for business.

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What form of travel are airlines competing with in the US? Travel by train is basically so bad that it’s for entertainment purposes only and any distance over 300 miles is more expensive and time consuming by car.

The fact that the airport/TSA experience can be so difficult and airlines are still fine is a testament to the lack of viable alternatives.

I don't know, are interstate highways empty? Price reduction can compete against the trips not taken at least.

Also, it might be about the availability of pilots. How is the demand for air travel doing? If it is very strong then 1 pilot per plane would mean twice the pilots in the market. Then it's up to hardware producers to supply the pilots with planes and increase market.

Not even other forms of transit--if transit is cheaper, people will travel more.

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