Originally Posted by
gloopy
Maybe. It could also be a planted rumor to help DAL's effort because when the dust settles, its going to be a DL slot anyway?
If I had to bet, I'd say we face 3:2 odds of losing the slot. Especially where DL is based versus a beloved underdog airline from a state with far deeper current political ties.
This could actually be the catalyst to jump start the inevitable merger, which is fine with me. If we're going to do it, sooner is better because every single new hire class they run buffs their list more than several years of non stop DL hiring.
I predict we lose the slot, acquire Hawaiian, are faced with threats of losing it again as part of DOJ mandated divestiture but end up keeping it after giving something else up. But that's just me guessing.
IMO, if we announced a merger acquisition with HAL, it significantly decreases the odds of LaHood awarding DAL the former DTW-HND slot. Most of DAL's argument is about SEA and lack of access, both O and D and beyond. Some of that is marginalized by doing anything with HAL prior to the decision. We have waited this long to jump on further consolidation, I would be quite surprised to see us do it now.