On god, another 'big announcement' coming. Like the many other big announcement days I've heard rumoured in my time at the big easy, the day will come and go and nothing will be said.
I can't see them absorbing an airline just to get a few extra slots. From a business point of view it would be much easier to just wait and if the worst were to happen, then the slots would be easiy to come by picking up the ashes. It's a lot cheaper and simpler.