I seriously hope this happens

what are your thoughts

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/0f54e...#axzz1oVGE7zLt

For those of you who do not have Financial Times subscription (like me), the Google catch has the material. If a DL-AA merger really went through (which I doubt), then I guess the alliance that loses it will be in big trouble. I hope they will not go to ST, as then OW would be facing a life-threatening challenge. On the other hand, the potential (but not so likely IMO) DL-AA merger may result in a OW-ST merger, similar to that of ST-Wings, since neither alliance can survive well without an American carrier. Other than the US market, oneworld and SkyTeam does not have serious overlap (except IB and UX), and compared to that with *A there are a lot more long-standing co-operation between OW and ST members (e. g., CX-VN, JL-AF, JL-KE, MH-KL, etc.). AS would also be able to join an alliance and not get worried about having to choose a side.

Don't forget JL-VN and JL-MU

DL, together with AF/KL owns SkyTeam. Why one earth would they want to lose all but total control over their own alliance to join OW?

... and F award redemptions on KE. Other than that, ST has nothing for me.

This article deals with what might happen after the least likely happens, in only one way of it happening (DL, as opposed to someone else who got what DL would be forced to spin off, getting all of AA's LHR landing slots).

It leaves to the last sentence of the article a much more likely possibility: That AA merges with US rather than with DL. (But there is no big headline about IAG or oneworld then, as US is the minor player in *A, with UA the major player, so US would simply move to OW and then then each of the 3 remaining major networked airlines in the USA would be with one of the 3 alliances.)

Forgetting for a moment the uncertainty of whether DL-AA would ever be really considered, how DL-AA would work (in terms of what DL would get to keep of AA and what it would have to spin off) is not at all clear. If DL couldn't keep any of AA's JFK operations, because DL already has a big JFK presence, then would they get any of AA's JFK-LHR slots??? And if not, wouldn't whoever does have more of a reason to join oneworld???

My thoughts?

Why do you start threads with exclamation marks when a question mark is more appropriate?@:-)

A brief review of some of your posts indicates you know the difference.