It's a razor edge that the union is walking now.

You want to save fuel to avoid higher costs in the future. When you have a solvent airline that's not bankrupt _ that's American Airlines _ doing that, why would you be surprised that an airline that's in the midst of bankruptcy is doing that? Delta has to get lean and mean ... This is what they have to do. This is the first wave, but it's going to continue.

United is playing with fire. If this becomes a major bone of contention, then the present United disclosure statement may never be approved.

The market for pilots and other airline professionals is soft, and that's an understatement. They played it down to the wire, but there is still hope for Delta, and we will see what happens next few months.

Merck figures that the odds are with them over the years to fight them.

It's the old game of chicken, and it comes down to who blinks first. This is an all-bets-off scenario.