is there a known link where I could read up on SCOPE? I'm little confused

As far as the SWA/ATA codeshare goes, SWA takes and keeps the revenue for all the pax that ride SWA planes, and ATA keeps all the revenue from their segments.
The theory is that the combination creates more traffic for each carrier that they originally wouldn't have had. There is no control of ATA by SWA. There are also no overlapping segments except for one obscure one that only lasted a few weeks before ATA pulled out of it. It isn't a scope issue, it is a code share issue, but certainly something to keep a watchful eye on.

Not that obscure. It was RSW. ATA was serving RSW before WN ever entered FL. Our management refused to operate in competition with WN, and WN managment did have a say in our operations as long as they were loaning us money to exit bankruptcy.

John Dennison, our interim CEO (retires in Jan.), came from WN. We were all well aware of where is loyalties lay.