You're getting a little wound up CL. You missed my point. Tim and the board said stand alone plan. They (management) then had to manage the company to ensure success of said plan. They failed. Miserably. So management did have a say by performing to the level needed to stay independent. So when you say nobody had a say but the BOD, you are incorrect. The BOD had the FINAL say. Don't get so wrapped up in who the judges are and what corporate structure is.
I had a say in all of this. I quit. I never believed in the stand-alone plan. I wasn't alone, many more of us quit, all at the same time. Some were still going to Midwest. Since the managers couldn't manage this, it cost the company a ton of money. We had two fleet supervisors quit the same day with no notice. Coupled with the Skywest startup and oil going nuts, it was, for me, the perfect time to make my voice heard. I am curious, though, what did Skyway pilots do that was so wrong? Be a part of something we didn't believe in? Be neutral so the pool wasn't flushed so the guys that did believe in Midwest could go there? Maybe we should have been for the merger, had the pool flushed so these guys would go elsewhere and wouldn't be anywhere near this crap? We were already sold out, CL, there was nothing left for us to lose.
Look, if 50% of the pilot group said they favored a merger, do you think your union should have sided with the company? I think you guys could have influenced the non-Airtran board members a little bit in favor of a merger. Would it have changed the outcome? Who knows. I know I'd try to take a 7-1 intergration (sp) over a company that hasn't turned much of an operating profit for years.