Seems plausible to me. I've always heard (from sources who very well could be totally full of crap) that SkyWest operated Alaska flights are significantly cheaper than Horizon operated flights. Mostly given to OO's scale (200+ E-Jets, in-house mx & engine shop savings, etc). So if I was Alaska looking to tighten the belt and give up on fighting to attract regional pilots...having Horizon get absorbed by OO would make a lot of sense.