Originally Posted by
Airsupport
the reason i say smoke and mirrors is because of this. we have 16 crj 900's we have bought painted in delta colors on their way. i am sure if we went to nwa with our own planes they could find some use for them since it is legal under the contract we have with nwa. then at the end of the year we when dal/nwa merge we will once again be flying for delta, and will still have our planes in dal colors. so they terminate the contract we have with them (which i don't think will happen) but in the end we will still be flying for them, just maybe not out of ATL.
I don't know, I hope that works out. But DL/NW management are already in bed together. If DL wants Pinnacle out, I highly doubt it would then let it's future merger partner to go and make their own deal (unless it's extremely favorable to the airline).
What we can all take away from this is that NO regional carrier is safe right now. Everyone, even the financial sector/investors, thought Pinnacles deal was rock solid and DL would never touch it. Delta knows what they're trying to do(at least they should...) and I cannot see them making these decisions (which could end up financially backfiring BIG TIME) unless they're extremely confident in an outcome in their favor.