Originally Posted by
Golden Bear
Not always true: When SKYW bought ASA part of the deal was a new extended fee-for-departure codeshare deal for both SKYW and ASA and that SKYW would hold back $100 mil. of the purchase price for one year or until the guaranteed terms of the codeshare agreement were affirmed in BK court (DAL had not yet declared, but all signs indicated it was imminent).
SKYW got their contract re-affirmed and DAL got their cash.
Yeah that was a clever tactic to make sure they got that contract by leveraging ASA. However what about next time? If UA went Ch. 11 tomorrow what's not to say they cut SKW's contract in half? They don't have any assets that can be bought like ASA so there's nothing to pay your way into.
If US Air went tango-uniform and completely dissolved, there won't be an airline left to contract with. No amount of negotiating can save any regional attached to a dissolved major.