Originally Posted by
rickair7777
The big four might surprise you with who they buy. The article doesn't seem to consider the fact that the bigs might buy smaller majors for gates and even pilots.
Considering that American, Delta, and United would have to give up gates with any acquisition, I don't see that as a viable option for them. There have even been times in the past where the DoT has taken away gates from the 3 legacies even without a merger.
Southwest may be able to get away with another merger, but I don't think that the other 3 can pull one off without a lot of required divestitures.