I would see the only gain for united would be pilots and airframes. We here at alaska have an incredibly weak footprint for the size of our airline. One per day service to most places.Other than that it’s mostly short hops around the west coast that united already does.

yes they gain a presence Seattle back but contrary to what the angle lake folks say, Seattle is not a huge gain. It would open another door for united to Asia to compete with delta sure but uniteds focus isnt On Asia anymore thanks to covid. United is far more focused on expanding in Europe.

as for getting rid of a competitor? I don’t think alaska is putting the squeeze on anyone except maybe deltas pricing for tickets to/from Seattle. I doubt sincerely alaska even appears as a blip on the radar as a competitor for united.

i can buy a JetBlue/alaska marriage. I could buy that alaska acquires sun country/avelo. I could see a world where aa would make a play for alaska.. united or delta going after alaska? No way. Pure day dreaming of a happy ending here for us here at the quickly failing most west coast super regional