I like connecting at MEM as much as the next guy, but let's be honest and objective about this. Memphis has a metro population of 1.3 million, compared to 2.1 million in Cincinnati and 2.0 million in Cleveland (two other hubs destined to disappear). Both of those cities also have larger business communities present. SLC is the smallest hub metro area in the country, but has a large business community and decent ski tourism, and serves a unique geographical need. CLT has 1.7 million people, but for US (and even a potential combined US/AA) has a large business travel community and a unique geography for that airline. MEM has a small population, small business travel community, and geographical redundancy. There's a reason there's not a mob of airlines rushing in as DL cuts service, and it's unlikely you'll see a UA hub form there given the same problems as above (substitute IAH for ATL, and it's the same story for UA as DL). There really aren't any other suitable hub cities in the southeast, which is why Fortress ATL remains in place. BNA would be a reasonable option but AA already failed there and WN has taken over much of the traffic. MCO and TPA have the traffic, but they're too fragmented with LCCs. Unless a B6 or VX decided it wants to have a mid-continental hub (and there are better candidates if that's the case), unlikely MEM will see much replacement service as DL cuts back. Realistically, if MEM weren't already a hub, would it be on anyone's short list for a new hub?