Mergers between airlines are always MESSY. Continental was still in battles with former Eastern Pilots only up until a few years ago.

Alliances make this work nice and easy for airlines, and make things minorly easy for customers.

To that end, with Delta potentially not emegring as anything of its former self, and assuming NW will emgere much stronger, that leaves Sky Team with two strong US carriers, and one so so one. I dont see Continental leaving SkyTeam so quicky. Moving around alliances is not just like calling up AF/DL and saying "We're leaving" and calling up UA/SQ and saying "we'd like to fill out the form to join" They require significant planning and logisictics.

Considering Continental has just joined SkyTeam - even with the impending doom looming over DL/NW (which SkyTeam members had to know about or had a good clue about - to think otherwise would be just plain ignorant), it is unlikely they were planning on joining up, then leaving to join someone else.

BK will allow NW and DL to slash costs [the ability to nullify contracts and etc is always help], which is what will end up saving them, when they come out of BK they will be stronger and more formidable carriers for competition. I highly doubt NW will end up going to AA. DL selling of assests is no surprise - if anyone wants to take them.

-Vincent