Probably shouldn't get involved in this one...
When I was at Eagle, I was involved in the union and we tried several times (pre 9/11) to engage APA in talks to try to come up with a united front against AMR. Saying that we were snubbed would be an understatement. This was during the time that Eagles big concern was American Connection flying. We went to APA like little brother approaching big brother for some help (APA was in contract negotiations at the time) hoping that APA would see that there is a big difference between allowing a wholey owned (Eagle) fly AA passengers than allowing outsiders fly as Connection carriers. Although Eagle is bad for AA to, at least if Eagle had gotten all the connection flying, all of those RJ CA seats would have been available for flow-back. At least you would have only been dealing with one entity with a cost structure higher (closer to AA) than the connection carriers. Instead of being able to sit down and talk, we got the door slammed in our face. Instead we got billboards all around DFW airport and on billboards surrounding DFW airport proclaiming that APA pilots were better than Eagle pilots. We got denied jumpseats. We got stepped on on ramp & ground frequency. in the end, APA came up with Scope language that hurt Eagle more than it hurt Connection, allowing Connection to grow way larger than it should ever have.
In 1996-97 APA had the opportunity to bring little brother into the "mainline" when AE had about 1500 pilots. Our MEC would have gladly taken a staple. In 2000-2001 (pre 9/11) we had 2500 pilots and our MEC was willing to discuss an equitable integration (less than DOH). After 9/11 APA approached Eagle for seniority integration (they offered a staple). Needless to say we laughed all the way out the door. Today Eagle has over 3000 pilots and most of them can't wait for the flow through to expire and will never sign another one.
So, although I disagree with Paco Pollo's personal attacks against you, as you were just "trying to help a brother out." I just want you to understand that the venom runs deep in Eagle pilots toward APA pilots (as a group).
APA uses any upper hand they have to the advantage of it's pilot group. This is a great tactic and benefits APA pilots greatly, however, don't act surprised when there is resentment toward you from groups that have been bullyed by you. (i.e. Reno pilots, TWA pilots, Eagle pilots)
...on a side note, Eagle having a 16 year contract is a perfect example of what can happen to seperate groups of pilots with a lack of trust and cooperation. It should be a lesson to both Eagle and APA pilots as to why Eagle and APA need to start getting along.
Later
When I was at Eagle, I was involved in the union and we tried several times (pre 9/11) to engage APA in talks to try to come up with a united front against AMR. Saying that we were snubbed would be an understatement. This was during the time that Eagles big concern was American Connection flying. We went to APA like little brother approaching big brother for some help (APA was in contract negotiations at the time) hoping that APA would see that there is a big difference between allowing a wholey owned (Eagle) fly AA passengers than allowing outsiders fly as Connection carriers. Although Eagle is bad for AA to, at least if Eagle had gotten all the connection flying, all of those RJ CA seats would have been available for flow-back. At least you would have only been dealing with one entity with a cost structure higher (closer to AA) than the connection carriers. Instead of being able to sit down and talk, we got the door slammed in our face. Instead we got billboards all around DFW airport and on billboards surrounding DFW airport proclaiming that APA pilots were better than Eagle pilots. We got denied jumpseats. We got stepped on on ramp & ground frequency. in the end, APA came up with Scope language that hurt Eagle more than it hurt Connection, allowing Connection to grow way larger than it should ever have.
In 1996-97 APA had the opportunity to bring little brother into the "mainline" when AE had about 1500 pilots. Our MEC would have gladly taken a staple. In 2000-2001 (pre 9/11) we had 2500 pilots and our MEC was willing to discuss an equitable integration (less than DOH). After 9/11 APA approached Eagle for seniority integration (they offered a staple). Needless to say we laughed all the way out the door. Today Eagle has over 3000 pilots and most of them can't wait for the flow through to expire and will never sign another one.
So, although I disagree with Paco Pollo's personal attacks against you, as you were just "trying to help a brother out." I just want you to understand that the venom runs deep in Eagle pilots toward APA pilots (as a group).
APA uses any upper hand they have to the advantage of it's pilot group. This is a great tactic and benefits APA pilots greatly, however, don't act surprised when there is resentment toward you from groups that have been bullyed by you. (i.e. Reno pilots, TWA pilots, Eagle pilots)
...on a side note, Eagle having a 16 year contract is a perfect example of what can happen to seperate groups of pilots with a lack of trust and cooperation. It should be a lesson to both Eagle and APA pilots as to why Eagle and APA need to start getting along.
Later
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