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SWA/Airtran pilot integration thoughts, what will the new list look like?

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hey what have i been saying for years as a merger solution?

STEEL CAGE MATCH !!!!

I suggested this for the 2000-2001 aaa/ual fiasco and again for our current mess also mentioned it for MDA/Rep and DAL/NWA but nobody seems to listen.

I think it would be great.

1. Both pilot groups pick a neutral area. In this case MEM (about half was between ATL and DAL), the pilots of Fedex could referee.

2. Build a giant steel cage on the ramp

3. put all pilots involved from both lists in cage

4. Ring giant bell and unleash free for all knock out fest

5. first pilot down/taps out/runs gets the last position on the list and the next gets the second to last and on and on till the last pilot standing. Last pilot standing gets seniority number one.

Pretty straight forward if you ask me.

Too many hurt pilots.

Here is simple:

Think Amazing Race...

...All of us line up outside Headquarters in Dallas. You have to finish a bottle of Turkey. 3...2...1...Bang! All 8,000 of us race by foot to the AirTran crew room in ATL. You WANT seniority, you'll get seniority. Blood, sweat, and tears.
 
I'd venture to guess the reactions for the majority of FO's at SWA and the majority of FO's at AT were polar opposites. The main reason for this are career expectations. I am a 3.5ish yr FO at SW. I am on track to make $145K this year. This is average for my sonority. I will get a $10.00/trip increase for next year so I should make around 155-160K. I am a commuter so I do not make the extra $ like the guys who live in base. We have FO's making over 200K and CA's making over 400K, but again I am talking averages. Based on my career expectation snapshot yesterday I planned to upgrade in about 8-10 yrs (in a down economy and slow to no growth mode). As a topped out FO I plan to make around 180K/yr. When I upgrade to CA it will be 275K/yr. At SW we get a minimum of 15 days off per month and I almost never have less than 17. I know the future can change at any moment but this is an honest future expectation. Based on pay and benefits of AT as posted on APC and posts from AT pilots in the past, there is no gain for me as a SW pilot in terms of pay, contract, an benifits. Now, I didn't say there was no benefit at all. There will be more destinations, and eliminate a competitor. I also think it will be good for SW if done properly. There are many great pilots over there as well who I would enjoy working with.
But the main point I want to make is for AT pilots to understand my point of view. I am not in their shoes but I know enough about their situation and have talked to many AT pilots to get an idea. So if you see some SW guys talking about "fair and equitable", this is where we are coming from.
 
I'd venture to guess the reactions for the majority of FO's at SWA and the majority of FO's at AT were polar opposites. The main reason for this are career expectations. I am a 3.5ish yr FO at SW. I am on track to make $145K this year. This is average for my sonority. I will get a $10.00/trip increase for next year so I should make around 155-160K. I am a commuter so I do not make the extra $ like the guys who live in base. We have FO's making over 200K and CA's making over 400K, but again I am talking averages. Based on my career expectation snapshot yesterday I planned to upgrade in about 8-10 yrs (in a down economy and slow to no growth mode). As a topped out FO I plan to make around 180K/yr. When I upgrade to CA it will be 275K/yr. At SW we get a minimum of 15 days off per month and I almost never have less than 17. I know the future can change at any moment but this is an honest future expectation. Based on pay and benefits of AT as posted on APC and posts from AT pilots in the past, there is no gain for me as a SW pilot in terms of pay, contract, an benifits. Now, I didn't say there was no benefit at all. There will be more destinations, and eliminate a competitor. I also think it will be good for SW if done properly. There are many great pilots over there as well who I would enjoy working with.
But the main point I want to make is for AT pilots to understand my point of view. I am not in their shoes but I know enough about their situation and have talked to many AT pilots to get an idea. So if you see some SW guys talking about "fair and equitable", this is where we are coming from.

You make some excellent points, which leads me to believe that SLI will go to arbitration to preclude any litigation.
 
I think it would be counter-productive to start such a discussion here as it will inevitably degrade into a pointless food fight. I would suggest all SW and AT pilots save those keystrokes for emails to your union reps....that's where it may actually have some benefit.

This will ultimately be decided by an arbitrator....and that's okay. It's just business.


THANK YOU. Well said. Short, to the point and accurate.
 
Anybody remember what happened to Midwest pilots after Republic came in?
Same thing here except SWA is Republic. I'd take what you can get or it might get well....

SWA will fill the gates with whoever they want and do what they want. Simple as that.
 
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A couple of questions.... How many ATA pilots are currently flying at SWA? How much longer is SWA keeping the -500s? Fact sheets said little or no overlap-- what about BWI?
 

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