Your comment on brand is probably close to the truth thinking this way: in the mind of the consumer tasty-ohs are not cheerios, though they are a replacement,

Your comment on brand is probably close to the truth thinking this way: in the mind of the consumer tasty-ohs are not cheerios, though they are a replacement, but a seat on Southwest is the same thing as a seat on Delta. some people care, most don't. Airlines have not been able to successfully differentiate their products, so they operate in a commodity market, same as petrol or supermarkets.