UA only had 15 more airframes and very similar block hours on the merger date. The other main factor in ALPA merger policy that seems to be overlooked here is category and status of which the furloughees have neither.

As to the previous comments about who brought cash to the table, or who had the larger cash balance, remember that this was a cashless transaction where both stockholders were granted new shares in the new company with the Cal investors being credited a premium with 1.05/1 ratio.

UA also had "cash" that it drummed up in the summer of 09 by issuing a note against their last piece of un encumbered property (spare parts) for a steep 17.5% rate.

So yes, UA brought some cash in the same way as if one goes out and gets cash out against their house or credit cards and puts it in their bank account. For a company just 2 years out of bankruptcy, UA should have had a much stronger and less encumbered balance sheet, a fact lamented by Tilton in the DOJ hearings (funny how only Smisek's comments get posted) when he said that the capital markets were being closed off to UA and that they needed this merger to continue to access capital.