I would not waste more then about 2 minutes wondering if the Airtran pilots would come with the aircraft. Delta management would not even consider the deal if that were the case. There are to many other much simpler options such as all the A319's sitting around. Aircraft can always be found. Management is trying to position the airline to be ready for the final round of consolidation. The last thing they would want to deal with is a semi merger and all that entails at the same time.