Originally Posted by sxf24

So of UA's profits in that period were post-BK accounting gains, so take that for what its worth.

The simple truth is that neither airline was going to flourish on their own, or even for that matter, survive. While painful, the merger was critical to maintain a leadership position in the industry. From all objective measures, UA is the best positioned legacy carrier. Recent financial performance seems to indicate that things are going pretty well right now too, despite what many on this board say.