I believe those orders along with the 40 737s mentioned in that article were scrapped with the failed TA.

As to an early opener....what are we, 7 months out from starting normal negotiations which always seem to take years? Doesn't hurt to listen to the company's offer IMO. If they want to delay getting other aspects of the contract fixed for 2 years, then they need to be willing to pay for it. Considering what delta, SW, and Fedex have been offered, I imagine we would need to see new NSNB aircraft with great pay rates along with 20+% pay rate increase at DOS and increases for the next couple years.