Now I'm confused. You're saying that DL could potentially save half a billion dollars a year on its jet fuel bill if it invests a couple hundred million in a refinery and upgrades, yet those same cost advantages wouldn't be available if it didn't operate an airline? Couldn't DL simply sell the product to other airlines and pocket the same $500 million? In my world, cheap commodities can be used or sold.except that DL would not retain those benefits if it were a producer.... the reason why the deal has the potential to make sense is because DL is a producer and also a consumer - and precisely because refineries produce products which DL doesn't need. Oil producers don't care about jet fuel.. they care about profits. If DL can get jet fuel at producer costs and swap gasoline etc which it doesn't need with parties that are focused on making money on gasoline while DL gets lower cost jet fuel.
IOW, all the reasons why people argued it didn't make sense are exactly the reasons it does.