Who needed who is completely irrelevant. The fact of the matter in this acquisition scenario the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. AirTran offered improvements to Southwest's capabilities and vice versa. The combined company is better positioned for growth than either of the stand alone corporations were separate.

Many on this thread have hypothesized stagnation and increasing outsourcing at SWA. Increased outsourcing will require huge scope give aways from SWAPA. Anything is possible, but I have a hard time seeing a scenario where SWAPA has a desire to go down a road that has proven to be incredibly devastating to multiple other pilot groups. Only time will tell.