Ah, blissful silence.
PC767,
You are correct. I believe by negotiating with AA and Continental with regard to anti-trust immunity, WW is currently hedging is bets in case Open Skies is shelved, despite him being the one to insist upon it's withdrawal if the Americans renege on Part 2 of the deal.
As things stand though, the US airline industry is in fairly dire straits and it's questionable whether or not Chapter 11 will either be permitted or sought again, which means unless the US government is going to allow some of the majors to die, they will need to allow further concessions to foreign ownership or part-wnership.