I don't think the DOT would like one airline to control so much of the WAS market at both DCA and IAD. Remember the 'DC Air' spinoff that was to be the US Airways DCA operation when UA was buying UA?
It will stink to go back to the days of high fares but FlyI had quite an ambitious plan that they are finally starting to adjust to reflect the market reality. Whether they get it fixed in time remains to be seen. And I still think HP is the most likely partner, but perhaps F9 will be interested as well. Afterall, if your choice is Mesa or unemployment, which one do you pick?