Cannot see Piedmont surviving as a business unit of USAirways post-merger. The airline is run on a tight budget enough as it is, and then to imagine a re-fleet with a top-heavy seniority list? Why on Earth would they do that?
I believe that what happened at DL/NW post-merger is going to happen at USAirways (and the wholly-owned subsidiaries). They will be sold, or divested and draconian consolidation will follow and RFPs to operate any "new" flying or airplanes.
JK incident, I was there...Quite a shock to say the least, but not really surprising either...