Originally Posted by ashill

Except SY's route network doesn't actually fill in the gaps in AS's network. The domestic destinations that SY serves that AS doesn't are SAV, RSW, GPT, and HRL (which I'd never even heard of!). That doesn't help AS's core market -- travel to/from the west coast to a comprehensive set of destinations -- one iota. If they bought SY and rejiggered the network, maybe, but then they're encroaching on a fortress hub rather than being a little guy flying to sun destinations, and I don't think doing two mergers at once is sensible. And a codeshare or frequent flyer partnership doesn't let AS suggest core changes to SY's network.