There is a world of difference between code shared flights operated under open skies where established airlines already have the infrastructure and one airline trying to go it alone in an already oversubscribed market.
If NAS have any sense they will concentrate on the profit for sanity of SH operations and forget the vanity of LH where the overheads are crippling the company and demand won't return for years. The shareholders with lease commitments on 787 will obviously want to keep their hardware under contract but any potential external investors will be doubtful given the track record. Of course, if Boeing stump up big bucks, that may just be enough to tip the balance.