United is grounded in reality. The Legacy's are starting to realize that they're not going to be able to staff their airlines in the next 5-10 years. You cant hire all of your regional pilots, because who's going to do that flying? Its a big dance right now. Buying B6 gives UAL 3400 pilots that are screened and proven. 230 aircraft, including entertainment systems and wifi. Throw in BOS/JFK/FLL and 3/4 of a billion $ in cash and things start making a lot of sense. F-SLI and fences. Management doesn't give a $hit about that.
B6 pilots are a very solid group. Our propensity to clean, push a wheelchair or throw some bags is second to none. Put those exercises ontop of an extremely seasoned and experienced group, and you've got one of the best pilot groups in the world.
-Bubs