The SW airlines business model that gave us FR
The SW airlines business model may well have inspired Ryanair, but they only implemented half of it... they didn't bother to do the bit that ensures a happy, contented workforce who have a stake in the business. It was interesting to watch a documentary a few years ago on Ryanair that explored this link. Ryanair were quick to say that they emulated SW, but the SW senior manager being interviewed for the programme was very reluctant to endorse Ryanair... saying, in a roundabout way, that they considered Ryanair to be a very poor copy of their business model, and not at all interested in engaging their employees.
And criticising FR is not normally about sour grapes, it is more about seeing a once-proud occupation reduced to the status of bus driver, and all the changes that entails. Reasonable money, but you have to sell your soul to get it. There are lots of us who never applied to Ryanair, and never will!
How utterly predictable that an American wouldn't know or care about the rest of the world... the USA
is the world, right? At least until China get themselves organised properly, at which point the USA will find themselves in a similar position to the British Empire. Aviation is global these days, it's a lot smarter to be aware of other parts of the world...