The operating costs being very similar might be a factor, when you consider the revenue potential (122 seats versus 143). Philosophically, we are going to larger airplanes, not smaller. 143 seats, -800s, ..., the 717 is like leasing a fleet of -500s.
Let's just say that it's VERY cost effective for SWA to sub-lease those 717's. I've seen some of the numbers, and although I'm still bound to a confidentiality agreement for money-specific issues, I can tell you that it's better for the company financially this way (which management has also said, otherwise they wouldn't have done it, but knowing some of the details I can understand the "why" of the issue).
However, knowing enough of the broad financials behind it, I can say that pay protecting the Captains would still leave Southwest WELL into positive cash territory for the 717 deal.
However, one benefit for the SWA Master list (considering the transition bid results), subleasing 52 * B717 will more or less "normalize" the seniority list on 1/1/15. That is, on 1/1/15, those senior enough (≤50%) to hold a Captain seat will, those unable to hold a Captain seat will be bumped from the B717, assuming the seat removal occurs in reverse seniority.
Incorrect. On 1/1/15, on the MASTER Southwest seniority list, with ALL the previous AAI pilots on it, there will be 373 previous AAI pilots who are F/O's who have the seniority to hold CA slots but will be precluded from such by the 1/1/15 "no AAI 737 CA" provision.
The seniority list will not "normalize" as you put it, until likely well close to 2017, primarily through attrition, and secondarily with new aircraft deliveries, depending of course on the -300 retirements.
If the B717 were all still on property on 1/1/15, we'd have close to 300 former AT pilots in the left seat, where the bottom B717 CA would be junior to over a 1400 former SWA FOs.
No, actually, you'd have closer to 550 AAI pilots in the left seat of the 717, almost 200 of which would be holding it out-of-seniority. Remember, the list was roughly a 6.5:1 ratio, give or take, so yes, almost 200 pilots would be ratio'd in with around 1,300 SWA pilots.
Maybe, this was a small part of their plan to keep training costs down.
As has been mentioned, by doing this, and AAI ALPA not giving them relief on the training issues, it's going to cost ADDITIONAL millions of $$$ in training costs, having to run several hundred 737 pilots back through 717 training to honor the flush bid, the two months for each pilot who will come out of the system to train, drawing full pay during training, plus hotels, plus per diem, plus the sim costs from Alteon, etc. Then they'll have to run them through full initial at SWA again when they transition.
That kind of money, however, is small potatoes compared to the money savings on the 717 deal with Delta, and obviously wasn't even enough for us to use as a carrot to get something for the way it negatively impacted us.
