Sort of.

It would have made the most $ business sense to sell AS to UA or maybe DL. Or maybe buy B6.

But given the regulatory climate, and the egocentric nature of the AS HQ and BOD, it did start to look like AS would need to be the surviving entity. So it came down to either acquire a distressed domestic airline and double down on domestic NB, or buy a distressed WB operator and spread their wings internationally. Could have gone either way from where I sat.