No, the Nic hasn't technically been abandoned and it will be decided by arbitrators. The APA and USAPA have a very short time to exchange "status quo" lists. The APA will give USAPA one list and USAPA will give APA two lists. That's what presently exists. If the first arbitration panel grants APA ability to appoint a West committee AND they do, the West can negotiate from any position it sees fit and absent an agreement (a virtual certainty if the Nic is in play from the West), the final arbitration panel will decide to use the Nic or reject it based on the facts of the PRESENT case record and the absence of ALPA merger policy past or present. The undeniable fact NOW, is that the only reason the Nic is even in consideration now is the merger with AA and integration with AA pilots. That fact cannot be denied and again, I think the arbitrators will have to assess whether the Nic creates more damage to AA pre-merger pilot expectations and if so, which ISL priority carries more weight and which negatively impacts the greatest number of pilots.

Again, IMO, use of the Nic will require an extensive and lengthy fence construction or a massive chunk of the Nic list going surprisingly junior on the ISL.