I agree with you here. I wouldn't be one bit surprised to see the AA guy next to me on the master list with a DOH after mine. AA has a lot going for it heading into this arbitration. I'm good with whatever happens, as long as it's put together by the unbiased arbitrators after the appropriate testimony and vetting. I can only speak for myself, but the NIC at all costs is a red herring. What I always objected to was the stacked deck the east insisted on from the JNC pullout onward. I've spent thousands, and I don't care if I see the NIC again. I just don't want any one group either unilaterally deciding it or stacking the deck so much that it is effectively the same thing.
I prefer the west have a seat, but even if we don't get one I do take comfort in the fact that 3 arbitrators will be almost certainly be constructing the list.