Originally Posted by e6bpilot

NK/B6 being blocked was an anomaly that was made possible by a short sighted DOJ and a judge that had a misguided mandate to preserve something that was going to die anyway. I don't think they are going to repeat that mistake, especially after Spirit ended up in BK. The fact that HA/AK was allowed to proceed without a peep is proof that they know they screwed up.
This industry is due for another round of consolidation. The four biggest airlines have absolute power to squeeze and crush their smaller competitors. Being a mid sized regionally based airline isn't sustainable, especially once the initial growth period is over.