Assuming the merger is announced this summer, the merger itself could take up to 2 years to be completed. The landscape could change dramatically by then. A few regional feeder contracts on both the CAL and UA sides are coming due in the next couple of years.

So I say this, all of you guys out there salivating at the chance to fly an E-jet under a coex banner...well, don't hold your breath. Merger or not, the E-jets will hopefully go to mainline a la USairways...they're called 190's, more fuel efficient and better economics than it's smaller relative (the 170).

I can tell you for sure, that most mailine guys learned their lesson, and they're not going to roll over on scope because management tells them it's "grandfathered" from UA.