Originally Posted by
notquiteaff
You've got to have an A319 doing nothing worthwhile, though, in order to do what you're suggesting.
And that is part of the problem. UA accelerated its RJ expansion into larger markets when the oil prices skyrocketed. That's when they also retired the 737s.
From a fleet perspective, the UA-CO merger looks good as well. UA has a narrowbody shortage while CO has a widebody shortage. It really works out well for both of them.