The rumor for today on airliners is UA making a bid for AS---obviously to be taken with a big grain of salt.

AS has unwittingly boxed themselves into an even smaller corner than they were in back in 2015. They are forced to keep all their focus on SEA to maintain the status quo there and have largely neglected the rest of the network.

In 2015, it was clear that the focus was on AK, SEA, PDX, SJC, LAX, SAN. Anybody in those areas could viably make AS their go-to airline and expect to see gradual expansion of services over time.

If they end up staying as an independent airline that is half the size of B6 after their buyout of NK, where does this leave them? They have not voiced any strategy at all as to where they will concentrate. Have been waiting for 6 years for them to figure it out and they don't seem to have made any progress at all. If anything it is even more unclear than ever.