One of the more unlikely scenarios, however in this industry stranger things have happened.

— JETBLUE, VIRGIN AMERICA, FRONTIER OR ALASKA
Merging with a smaller airline isn't practical. JetBlue, the largest of this group, would add only 170 planes to American's 900-plane fleet. JetBlue and Alaska have great feeder networks on the East and West Coast, respectively, but American already has partnerships with both carriers that bring passengers to its hubs in cities like New York and Los Angeles.
JetBlue has been expanding in the Caribbean and cities in the Northeast — many locations abandoned by American. JetBlue's lower labor costs make this possible, said Ray Neidl, an airline specialist with the Maxim Group.
"A lot of markets JetBlue is expanding into, American can't make money in," Neidl said.