Lear70
JAFFO
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2003
- Posts
- 7,487
No, so ALPA's integration policy is out the window, as ALPA won't see the light of day here at airTran anytime soon... just WAY too many anti-ALPA pilots in the ranks.Is airtran ALPA?
*CAUTION* Speculation ahead:
That said,,, although it's a hostile takeover bid, the letter from AAI management says "merger". No, it's not semantics.
If Midwest were out shopping for a buyer, a staple might be the game of the day, but it's not. AAI will be wooing the shareholders at Midwest, and that calls for "playing nice" on all sides, even if it IS AAI money they're putting in their pocket and not the other way around.
The thought of an integrated seniority list pure DOH just SUCKS, especially if you've been hired in the last 2 years at AAI.
The Midwest crowd is WAY senior and the AAI pay rates in the FO seat are NOT comparable with the industry, so imagine getting stuck there an extra 2 or 3 years?
And yes, even fences wouldn't save your upgrade track. Most fences (historically speaking) simply keep CA's from getting bumped down or a pilot from being displaced out of their domicile. Future upgrades usually are not fence protected.
3-4 year upgrade is one of the primary benefits of coming here. Take that away and a lot of guys who were otherwise happy to stay put might start dusting off those resumes for the majors as they start ramping up hiring next year.
Ugly, ugly, ugly for the employees on the AAI side of the fence if they go DOH, and that will breed a LOT of animosity.
I've said it before, unless AAI is buying a carrier with a straight staple to the bottom of the list, I'd rather stay a stand-alone company as we seem to be doing just fine on our own. And no, this isn't a slam on Midwest, please don't take it that way, it's simply that I'd rather not merge with ANYONE at this point...
And yes, Lowecur, that includes both DFW and MDW where the loads are good (80%+ LF) and the fares about the same as they are anywhere else in our system (i.e. not drastically reduced in order to compete). More gates would have been even better in a market we seem to be faring just fine in (excuse the pun).
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