And broke off shortly thereafter. Once the concessions had been put in place, they started again in early 2005. Along with discussions with UA.
Read your own documents - they say that the US CWA costs were $X higher than a hybrid of B6 and HP. That's your union talking. The same was true for pilots - management wanted costs equal to the average of several low cost carriers. Not HP costs specificly, the the average of several. Even your documents don't mention anything about a merger - not one time. There's a reason for that - unable to find a willing merger partner in 2004, prior to entering bankruptcy, management had no option but to come up with a plan to survive as a stand-alone carrier. But by early 2005 the futility of that plan was obvious and the search for a merger partner resumed. After the concessions and other cost cuts, Parker was interested the second time around and the rest, as they say, is history.
You're trying to support a theory that isn't true and have no evidence that it is true.
Jim