XTW said:aa73,
I will have to reserve judgement on that if I ever decide to return. I can tell you from personal experience my last two years on the property, that the "regardless of your background" statement isn't quite true.
When we (TW types) started wearing AA uniforms, but still operating as the LLC, "native" crews were OK to talk to until they found out we were THEM. At that point the conversations turned very cool at best, outright ugly at worst. I have been personally blamed for the "buyout", up to, "the reason AA is in financial straights now". Give me a frickin' break.
The last two years of job atmosphere sucked, not to mention having my base closed and forced to commute. It's one that I would hate to "have " to go back to.
Your experience may be totally different since I get the impression you were "hired, not acquired".(just like the buttons the FA's were wearing)
I'm not bitter, I'm just pointing out that "background" does make a difference. These were my experiences, and I wasn't even working in the same cockpit.
X
Yo X,
I have no doubt that, outside the cockpit, there was definitely some tension between the two pilot groups. I personally know several TWA folks that were harassed by my "colleagues" at AA. Likewise for AA pilots, including yours truly on the STL employee bus when I was based there, by a senior OZ/TW captain. I blew it off with my standard retort, "it was out of my hands, brotha'." The history books are rife with examples when two pilot groups combine. NWA/Rep, DAL/PAA, and soon to be US/AWA. It is a by-product of mergers/acquisitions and ours is no different.
My point is this - INSIDE the cockpit, we both are professional enough to leave our personal issues aside and work together to deliver a safe flight for our customers - regardless of background. I know this for a fact since we have been operating SLT safely for three years now with TW CAs and AA FOs. Likewise, we have some TW pilots who have bid out of SLT to other AA bases and flown with AA CAs. If and when you choose to return, you will see it's no different.
Yes, I was "hired not acquired." I never let that cloud my judgment, though. I always realized that there were a lot of good TWA folks who bore the brunt of the furloughs. Guess what, I've also been personally blamed - for the integration. What can one do? When someone is about to get furloughed, their emotions get the best of them and they tend to blame someone in a "native" AA uniform for all their problems. I realized that and handled it accordingly - not like some of my colleagues who would have just rubbed it in their faces and in some cases, gone to blows. Talk about unprofessional. Those of you who bore the brunt of the furloughs were truly in an unfortunate situation, and I feel for every one of you - both TWA and AA pilots.
regards and GL,
73