It was a buyout disguised as a merger. LCAL stock holders were paid with LUAL stock.

I have no dog in the fight being post merger, but being a numbers nerd I've read the SEC filings to include the 10K's from both sides. LCALS debt trajectory was headed for the stratosphere and LUAL was sitting on billions in cash, and there was almost zero route overlap. From an operational/business standpoint they were made for each other and neither would have survived alone.

You now work for one of the largest airlines in the world, that just made $4b+ last year. Still want your LCAL W-2, profit sharing, contract, career earnings potential, etc?