It's not about how much NY loves JB. AA will go after JB as a hostile takeover, and the DOJ will most likely approve it with obviously some asset/slot divesting. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye, folks - many heavy hitters behind the scenes. It's is a business deal, nothing more, and $$$ talks. Bottom line is that IAG has some very deep pockets and think of this - oneworld is not very well represented in NY (other than JFK-LHR.) My bet is that in 5 years, AA will be bigger than DL in NY.