AirTran MEC: Whine on!

[GoodTimes]

You'd be a debating society of one.

Major airline is defined by the DOT. AirTran revenue exceeded this threshold by 250%.

As far as operations, one of the two airlines in the merger was operating internationally . . .

Guess which airline was first in LGA, BOS, PHL, DEN?

Hint- it wasn't SWA.

Gary Kelly knew what he was doing when he bought AirTran . . . two and a half years later, you still haven;t figured it out.

Ya got me, Ty. AAI was a major, international airline that served some big cities before SWA did. Who cares?

Guess which one was the acquired.

Hint - it wasn't SWA.

Two and a half years later and it appears it's you that still hasn't figured it out. Your career and all it's beloved promises and expectations are forever changed. It'll never be the same no matter how much you lament.

Here's to starting over.

 

[waveflyer]

And as a '99 legacy hire, according to my new hire orientation, I should be a 76 captain right about now.

I'm a 9th year SWA FO.

A loss of 100% of my previous airline seniority.

Things change.

There's a ton of ex-legacy folks at SWA with a similar career trajectory as mine. Its hard to muster a ton of empathy for your plight of "lost seniority". Try "lost career" on for size.

word to your mother

and +1 on the "game. set. match"

 

[freightdogfred]

Were you fired or were you furloughed and didn't take the recall? Did the company go out of business and/or file bankruptcy? If any of this is true, I don't see how it applies in comparison to the merger of two profitable major airlines.

It is telling though that you consider ending up at WN after losing a legacy job as a "lost career".

Game Set Match

 

[waveflyer]

I know of no one that wanted or expected a hire date at SWA before their actual AT hire date, stop being so melodramatic. Before you drag out SLI 1, it had a 30 percent seniority loss (average) also.

So again, I ask- what was your expectation then? Specifically please.

But i have to point out that

a) PCL, on this site, and very recently has said over and over that AT's "WORST" case scenario was DOH.
LET THAT SINK IN. THIS IS YOUR LEADERSHIP. (Neurotic and misguided as it was.)
Best case relative and expected that the actual SLI land somewhere in between.
PCL's words. Not mine. Would you like me to quote him?
So that takes care of 'i know of no one......'
this is one of your leaders, so please... 'can we dispense with the bull'.

and b) you do realize that DOH, which you are now saying was your "BEST" case scenario, comes with a huge relative seniority loss? varying by generation

We live in a capitalist system, dampened by our micro seniority system. All AT pilots took significant risks by going to and staying at AT - 10 years ago was the risk of going out of business- as you grew rapidly and became more profitable, but still small- you didn't take the "Poison Pill" measures SWA employees took when SWA was small- so your risk was acquisition by an older, more financially powerful airline. You were a takeover target- and I dare you to find any other buying entity that would have given you a better SLI.

Double dog dare.


Risk is an acceptable thing-- very similar to the significant risk i took accepting a job with a legacy in 2000, and similar to the risk i took holding out for SWA over interviewing at AT in 2004.

at what point are we all responsible for our own choices and realize Fate and chance plays a large role in an airline career, no matter how much we mitigate those in an actual flight deck?

 

[slaquer5]

You'd be a debating society of one.

Major airline is defined by the DOT. AirTran revenue exceeded this threshold by 250%.

As far as operations, one of the two airlines in the merger was operating internationally . . .

Guess which airline was first in LGA, BOS, PHL, DEN?

Hint- it wasn't SWA.

Gary Kelly knew what he was doing when he bought AirTran . . . two and a half years later, you still haven;t figured it out.

Check your facts

 

[Ty Webb]

Check your facts

Stapleton don't count. Just like ISP doesn't count, or you wouldnt bother with LGA.

 

[Ty Webb]

Ya got me, Ty. AAI was a major, international airline that served some big cities before SWA did. Who cares?

Guess which one was the acquired.

Hint - it wasn't SWA.

Two and a half years later and it appears it's you that still hasn't figured it out. Your career and all it's beloved promises and expectations are forever changed. It'll never be the same no matter how much you lament.

Here's to starting over.

It'll be fine.

Btw, I can appreciate what you (and many other folks) went through post 9/11. I am sure that after earning a slot at a Legacy carrier, it must have been a crushing and unfair blow. Congratulations to you for persevering, and I mean that in all sincerity . . . it's just different than an SLI between two healthy carriers.

Regds,
Ty

 

[redflyer65]

We can debate all day the idea of AAI being a "major airline".

Pretty much a regional airline until the 737 showed up and was utilized for the longer haul. (Had to contract with Ryanair initially to get it done.)

 

[Luv2BFlyin]

Pretty much a regional airline until the 737 showed up and was utilized for the longer haul. (Had to contract with Ryanair initially to get it done.)

Kind of like WN was a CONUS carrier and code sharing with Volaris to get pax south of the border and had to buy AirTran to get it done?

BTW, we hop-scotched across the country with the 71 just like you do with the 73.

 

[GoodTimes]

It'll be fine.

Btw, I can appreciate what you (and many other folks) went through post 9/11. I am sure that after earning a slot at a Legacy carrier, it must have been a crushing and unfair blow. Congratulations to you for persevering, and I mean that in all sincerity . . . it's just different than an SLI between two healthy carriers.

Regds,
Ty

And I can appreciate you and your colleagues anxiety with regards to the sale of AAI and all the changes that accompany it. I can assure you that this is far from the insurmountable career obstacle that some would make it seem. You and 99% of the AAI pilots will flourish at SWA.

Going forward, it's on each of us as individuals to make or break this place and our futures. Let's hope we can all start pulling in the same direction sooner rather than later.