I think it's highly doubtful that UA and US will liquidate. I certainly DON'T expect any airline to regularly offer $99 cross-country fares as standard (it just doesn't seem economically tenable). Skyteam and NW/KLM are relatively smaller/weaker alliances in the Star/OneWorld universe. Allowing NW/DL/CO to go ahead with their marketing agreement seems reasonable from a consumer point of view.

WRT all the freebies. We saw Useless Airways launch the first salvo earlier this year. Admittedly, it fizzled. Delta is now trying it again. I think it's inevitable that we'll see reductions in perks as airlines look for every dime, nickel, and penny that might possibly help their bottom line and ensure their survival.