AirTran Airways announces new service to Bermuda

[texman]

Some of you need to pop a few relaxers with a stiff beverage. Chill out homies. Not every post requires you to launch an offensive/defensive salvo at your future co-workers. Play nice, it's the holidays.

You know diss playa!

 

[texman]

I never said our contract was better Nancy. I simply stated a fact. Sorry if that hurts your feelings. It took SWAPA about 30 years to climb to the top of the pay scales and that only occurred with concessionary contracts at the Legacies. Besides, you don't have any more say than I do about this deal. Your boss and the shareholders thought this was a good deal so it is happening. Thump your chest all you want, in the end you have very little say in how this goes down.

Not just our boss, but yours too.




The back story

The deal began when, during his first quarter conference call, Fornaro signaled his interest in consolidation. Next came a call from Kelly.

“I called Bob in the Spring and asked him ‘are you interested in exploring an acquisition?’,” said Kelly. “I outlined the way I was thinking about it so I didn’t set expectations he wasn’t open to. He was open to at least hearing what I had to say. He made clear that AirTran was not for sale but open to discussions which took place over a number of months.”

Fornaro continued. “When Gary called I wasn’t sure what the subject would be because two or three years ago we talked about codesharing in Chicago,” he said. “I didn’t know whether it would be an acquisition or some other type of partnership. I was really unsure. After the conversation I thought about Southwest relative to AirTran having vast resources. Then I thought you put yourself in a position to win and with that, I realized that we’d be in a much better position and our 8,000 people would be better off for it.

“There was a sense of sadness,” he continued. “When I started we had a 20-year-old fleet and now it is 6.5 years old. We didn’t run a very good airline and now we do. A lot of people didn’t think we could do it but we did and grew to be the second largest carrier in the world’s busiest airport. But still, Southwest has huge financial resources that we don’t have. If we want to be a success; if we want to win, we have to create opportunities where our people are better off and have brighter futures. We have struggled as a company but we are flexible and innovative and, with what Southwest’s resources brings our people, I ended up being very excited. By joining forces we could do more together than what we would be able to accomplish on our own.

“This was also an easy win for our shareholders,” he said. “If your share price is USD4.50 and the potential offer is between USD7.25 and USD7.75, it’s a great deal for shareholders. AirTran could probably get back there on its own but the industry is fraught with risk. So you look at a sure thing with a strong premium, you feel the shareholders will favor it.”

 

[texman]

source. www.centreforaviation.com

 

[ivauir]

There is no debate SWA's contract is better. What does that have to do with the price of tea in china......or in this case what does that have to do with the SLI.....

Max,

This isn't the price of tea in China, it is the labor agreement that you might get to work under.

 

[PapaWoody]

There is no debate SWA's contract is better. What does that have to do with the price of tea in china......or in this case what does that have to do with the SLI.....

I'm pretty sure that the 40-90% pay increases and all the rest of the vast improvements in our contract vs. yours are going to have a lot to do with the SLI. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

PapaWoody

 

[Ty Webb]

Some of these responses are so October.

 

[redflyer65]

I never said our contract was better Nancy.

That's exactly what you insinuated Sally.

I think Papa is right, the massive differences will be factored in...

Whether it's an agreement or arbitration. The AAI contract brings us nothing, can you say the same?

 

[roughneck]

......................

 

[aa73]

Anything more than 120 mins single engine from land would be ETOPS. The East Coast to BDA is all within that time range.

 

[SKC]

Anything more than 120 mins single engine from land would be ETOPS. The East Coast to BDA is all within that time range.

Actually, according to Advisory Circular 120-42B, any operations beyond 60 mins from a suitable alternate (not "land") for a twin engined airplane is ETOPS. If it was a 120 min rule, nearly the entire North Atlantic would be able to be flown without ETOPS, which we know to not be the case. The most common types of ETOPS certification are 120 min and 180 min, but everything beyond 60 mins requires ETOPS.

Now, if JB and AT are able to operate to/from BDA without following ETOPS requirements, that's different.