Originally Posted by rickair7777

That's not correct in this case. I'm guessing Jet America and VX did not have scope limits on regional flying. I know VX didn't, they didn't even have a contract yet.

Many other majors have scope language which limits or prohibits ANY flying not performed by mainline. IIRC two obvious potential merger partners fall into that last category (WN and B6). HA has some regional feed, not sure what their scope is.

A merger partner's scope language (and everything else in the CBA) should be written to be binding on a successor company, which includes a new merged entity. So the deal could not be executed unless:

a) The other pilots agree to waive scope to the degree necessary to accommodate existing outsourced FFD.
b) OR the existing FFD is adjusted to comply with scope (that means FFD is eliminated in the case of WN/B6).

The new company would have to comply with the most restrictive limitations of each pilot group's contract, unless the pilots agree otherwise. Obviously there will eventually be an SLI and joint contract tailored to the new entity but that's not typically negotiated until after the merger is executed. Things like scope would have to be complied with on day one.

Historical example... the first time OO tried to buy EV, the EV pilots stuck to their guns on their contract, which OO found incompatible with their business plans, so the deal was called off.