I was thinking along the lines of anti-trust considerations. Members of airline alliances that receive anti-trust immunity only receive it on a very limited basis for a limited range of activities, ie: jointly marketing services, etc. Its not clear to me whether the conspiracy of "OW" would even be allowed to make a collective bid for AP assets or engage in collective negotiation, that otherwise would be the purview of individuals. They certainly aren't allowed to conspire to make joint bids for aircraft procurement, aircraft maintenance, for which the conspiracy of the competitors may drive pricing in their favour. One of the substantial reasons why conspiracy in restraint of trade was prohibited.

So absent any sort of confirmation from "OW" that they (whatever "OW" actually is as an organization), or any of their partners in conspiracy have actually talked to AP, I would take AP's claim with a grain of salt.