It happened to tranny but I don't think it could happen to AS. I don't think SW could actually afford to buy AS and then liquidate and transfer assets. Slots and gates allocated to AS are not owned by AS, and therefore would likely not automatically transfer to a successor.

Also AS is too big, couldn't hire and train pilots fast enough, and couldn't afford to buy AS and then park it while they slowly assimilate the assets.

While the SW pilots would be happy to spend billions of the shareholders money to pull of an end-run SLI staple job, their managers wouldn't, nor would their BoD or shareholders let them. The SW pilots would just have to live with a likely arbitrated SLI, per established precedent. Management doesn't care about their pilots THAT much.

Also AS has got to have successorship scope???