There's more to the rest of that story though.

ALPA did make a push for merger…CMR/ASA-ALPA that is. They drastically overplayed their hand, and forced DL-ALPA to maneuver to stop the land grab. Yeah they thought they successfully deflected reality by acting like a judicial activist wanna be during confirmation hearings with hollow platitudes, non answers and scripted talking points about the sancity of "the process" then pleading the fifth when caught and then hoping no one can do anything about it because they have the votes. But the whole thing was a massive land grab attempt and everyone, on all sides, openly knew it.

And there must have been a very good reason why the CMR BOD jumped at the 30% premium despite all those lofty scenarios of potential global domination of "could have bought Spirit" or "almost bought TWA for the reservations system" etc. If there really was a long term likelyhood of anything remotely close to the size and scope (pun) of any of that succeeding, their BOD would laughed at a quick 30% return if they were really sitting on a long term gold mine like many (excluding them, apparently) thought they were.

CMR was a semi-innovative and very well run regional and I was sad to see it go, but things change in the industry when you reach critical mass like that. They could have stayed around if they played their cards differently, but it is what it is. Plenty of smaller airlines get delusions of grandeur falsely interpolating growth rates and lofty ambitions infinitely into the future. Just look at the hyperbole of today's LCC's. Many think they will all morph into unchallenged domestic powerhouses "just like Ryan Air, weeeeeee!' and of course, all the regionals with "large RJ's" on order.

Same Napoleons, different day.