Let's address that point "I refuse to address."
Ameriagle, putting our differences aside, certainly you understand that there is no good reason why a MD-88 Captain at a growing, profitable airline should make 80 bucks an hour with no retirement. Certainly you can agree with that?
Certainly you can believe that the Allegiant pilot group has FAR SUPERIOR representation than ALPA. You guys tell me that all the time. Can we agree on those two points?
We'll get back the above two points in a minute....
So you asked me why didn't just ALPA say "no?" I've discussed my opinion on that subject at length, but the bottom line was that, in my opinion, it wouldn't have mattered. The legacy carriers at that time couldn't compete with LCC's with employees working at wages far below the prevailing wages at the time. It just wasn't going to happen. Labor, back then, were an airline's highest cost, airlines in general were marginally profitable, and from a competitive standpoint having labor costs that were 100%+ higher was a death sentence. The legacy carriers' labor groups (all of them) had a choice. Either adapt to the low cost environment or perish. To blame "bad management," or "ALPA," in my opinion, is off point. There's not much either can do faced with huge labor cost disadvantages in an airline environment. Even today.
The problem continues in that even if one legacy airline "fell on its sword" to keep wages up, the spiral would have continued. LCC's would have grown into the void left by the failed carrier, gotten stronger, then the next legacy domino would feel even more pressure to compete against these growing, now stronger LCC's. An ALPA or APA or whoever "sacrificial lamb" would have done little to stop the cancer.
But let's say you don't buy my arguments above as to why it wouldn't have made sense for us to "just say no" as you state. Maybe I can illustrate the point in a way that you can understand.
Reread my first several sentences. Maybe some pilots "didn't say no" for the same reasons the Allegiant pilots didn't just say no to your latest contract? Despite superior representation (in your group's opinion I'm sure), a growing airlne, a profitable airline, you still have no retirement and low wages. Why didn't YOU say no? Why didn't the Allegiant pilot group's superior representation deliver an industry standard contact? Why didn't the Allegiant pilot group collectively say "NO" to ANY part of its contract that was substandard to any ALPA contracts? Contracts that were negotiated by clueless, bloated, overpaid ALPA leaders? Certainly the Allegiant pilot group could have chose to lead by example and show us all how it's done.......but they chose not to. Why?
Your hypocrisy boggles the mind. The inaction of your pilot group is a result of your inability to affect change? So you are back to taking no responsibilty for you circumstances and blaming everyone else, good grief! In your history lesson you forgot the part about that precedent setting LCC surpassing your pay!
I don't thnk anybody at Allegiant is claiming to have superior anything (well maybe QOL)......that would be you! I am fairly certain that most Allegiant pilots are comfortable in their choices and the direction this airline is headed in....as for me I have no interest in taking responsibility for your career so next time I suggest you save yourself the time and effort!