The Real Reason Why Southwest Is Kicking Ass

It's because they do all that endearing customer-friendly cutesy-poo crap they signed contracts to guarantee reasonable oil prices prior to the price boom.  Their competition is dying because their fuel costs are rising but they can't afford to raise ticket prices; meanwhile, Southwest is paying nearly 50 cents on the dollar because they were smart enough to foresee the mess we're in right now.  The linked article is almost two years old, but I suspect the situation isn't any different now than it was then.

That certainly goes a lot further to explain their market dominance than simply chalking it up to being "outsiders."  All that "the airline for regular folks like you and me" garbage wouldn't fly (sorry) if the prices weren't under such good control.  The real deal is that they're just that much smarter.