Originally Posted by
ksweeney
With the anti-trust issues, DL would only succeed by buying parts and spinning the rest off to someone else. For example DL might want to do a joint deal with US. DL would pickup the ORD hub along with some 737s and US would take the rest. DL would move ahead of UA in the "mine is bigger than yours" game they are playing. US would still benefit massively with the MIA, DFW, and LAX hubs. Other than some scenario like this where DL buys components of AA, the anti-trust issues would stop DL dead in its tracks.
The additional problem would be that any sizable break up of assets/operations makes it much harder for creditors to determine if they are better off than leaving AA emerge as a standalone operation. Creditors are going to want a very concise plan without having dozens and dozens of offshoots. Any prospective acquisition needs to past muster with creditors even before the government gets involved.