Gary Kelly's ATN Comments at Message To The Field

[texman]

What i worry about is alpa, and i don't think the airtran guy's are of that long term mentality.

 

[General Lee]

I'm wishing for a good integration all the way around.

I fear that ALPA will screw this up with irrational demands and some (not all) at Airtran will be inclined to follow them. Gary won't let ALPA hold demands over 35,000 employees at SW.

Hoping for good things.

It seems you are fearful of what NEUTRAL people will do (a la arbitrators). God Forbid they see the REAL value of Airtran, and place people where it would be FAIR. What are you afraid of? The TRUTH. Yep. The truth will SET YOU FREE........... Just forget about upgrade worries, and stagnation. And what will ALPA screw up? They will ask for fairness, and the arbitrators will give it to them, and you. Your SWAPA lawyers and ALPA lawyers will present their cases, and that will be that. Don't be so scared.......it will all......be......oh.......kay? Gotta roll the dice sometime.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

What i worry about is alpa, and i don't think the airtran guy's are of that long term mentality.

Are you putting the Airtran guys down AGAIN? Keep slamming them, and they will hunker down and make sure you pay. I have a feeling they will wait it out until arbitration.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[ATLplt]

To the 717 conspiracy theorists: Why in the hell would GK sell all the lift that's generating a profit? Not to mention, what would you do with all the passengers that annually fly on them...discontinue service so they can choose a competitor? Remember, the 717 creates the majority of the $2.6 billion of yearly revenue, not the lower frequency, long haul 737. I didn't major in business, but it doesn't make much sense to dump a cheap to operate, profitable, and right sized fleet. The fleet commonality argument is bogus as well. The commonality between a 300/500 and a 700/800 are not as high as one might think.

This is NOTHING but scare tactics to manage expectations. Sign here please or your aircraft are sold and you're out of a job. GMAFB

 

[Bob Dylan]

.....:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Every SWA pilot that I've talked to expects a staple. Maybe they don't blab it on here because of a request from SWAPA, but I know the ones I talk to expect a straight staple. Heck, even all the AirTran/Guadaloupe Holdings pilots I've talked to over the past few months would take a staple.

Lear70 himself was literally begging for a staple to SWA a year ago! What's changed? Probably just plain old greed.

I'd bet some cash on a staple! Either that or Ty will be left seat at Guadaloupe Holdings Airways for a couple years.

 

[MILPILOT17]

You might want to look in the mirror then.

We already know that when the ink is dry that all AAI orders are coming to SW, so how realistic is your view of growing Airtran? I'm just sayin.

DAL/NW? Really? Not even close to what we are trying to do here. SW/AAI career expectations and QOL are night and day, there's really no debate. Delta and NW was pretty close to identical.

If anyone can screw this up it will be ALPA.

You mean those 500 tail numbers that look kinda funny both up front and in the back? Got news for ya; we're already flying some of the Airtran orders.

 

[OurMoney1]

What is/would be the legal penalty today if GK were to decide that it is not going to work out and walk away?

Flame bait aside, anybody know? Financial penalty? Wall Street punish LUV? Theories? Facts?

 

[Bob Dylan]

What is/would be the legal penalty today if GK were to decide that it is not going to work out and walk away?

Flame bait aside, anybody know? Financial penalty? Wall Street punish LUV? Theories? Facts?

It means Ty will retire in the left seat on the 717 at Guadaloupe Holdings Airways.

I think maybe GK has planned all along to take the AirTran name, website, 737s, slots and gates and to run Guadaloupe Holdings Airlines as a separate airline. Eventually it will go bankrupt due to the fact that nobody can fit www.guadaloupeholdingsairways.com into the address bar of their browser to book a flight.

 

[scoreboardII]

What is/would be the legal penalty today if GK were to decide that it is not going to work out and walk away?

Tad around $30 Mil. Or about 120 minutes of revenue.

 

[On Your Six]

You might want to look in the mirror then.

We already know that when the ink is dry that all AAI orders are coming to SW, so how realistic is your view of growing Airtran? I'm just sayin.

DAL/NW? Really? Not even close to what we are trying to do here. SW/AAI career expectations and QOL are night and day, there's really no debate. Delta and NW was pretty close to identical.

If anyone can screw this up it will be ALPA.

To keep their pensions, NWA pilots dumped many of their QOL work rules and pay compared to the Delta pilots. But, all of that was made equal by the time the SLI was started with the arbitrators supposedly. The SLI only dealt with seniority on the list, not pay. It seems like you and some other SWA pilots
on here are saying your management could hold the Airtran pilots "hostage" with lower pay until they give in on SLI demands. Is that right? Sounds like USAir East tactics.


OYS

 

[Ty Webb]

I'm not sweating it. I'm guessing that we don't want it to drag on forever, and SWAPA doesn't want it to go to arbitration . . . so, both sides will want to keep it productive and moving forward, and hopefully come up with something that both Pilot groups can vote on.

Meanwhile, guys like Bobby D, Sundowner and the rest can gnash their teeth and stew in their jealousy.

 

[texman]

To the 717 conspiracy theorists: Why in the hell would GK sell all the lift that's generating a profit? Not to mention, what would you do with all the passengers that annually fly on them...discontinue service so they can choose a competitor? Remember, the 717 creates the majority of the $2.6 billion of yearly revenue, not the lower frequency, long haul 737. I didn't major in business, but it doesn't make much sense to dump a cheap to operate, profitable, and right sized fleet. The fleet commonality argument is bogus as well. The commonality between a 300/500 and a 700/800 are not as high as one might think.

This is NOTHING but scare tactics to manage expectations. Sign here please or your aircraft are sold and you're out of a job. GMAFB

Some of my comments are not a scare tactic. I was just stating what might be a Business move for all shareholders in the deal SWA/AT/DAL. Just talking theory, not conspiracy. I am not nocking the fact the 717 makes money. I never said you would be out of a job. If you have read my post on FI, they have never stated AT guy's "Watch out you may be out of a JOB, sign here or else"! Brother this deal isn't just about us. It's about the 35,000 SWA family members and the future family members. As far as the 717, I have heard GK state the 717 will be scattered all over the US. It will feed the smaller markets, like out west. This is FI. Don't take shizz personal. M/B will manage our expectations.

 

[texman]

Are you putting the Airtran guys down AGAIN? Keep slamming them, and they will hunker down and make sure you pay. I have a feeling they will wait it out until arbitration.


Bye Bye---General Lee

Gen nuts don't start. I like that you come on all the SWA boards and start shiz. I would like to point out is the delta guy's love to instigate our boards. What you need to do is take what you know about your merger and keep it to your self. This is acquisition/merger is different than yours. Putting AT guy's down come on Gen nut's! That remark is a tactic on your part to put anger in the AT's guy's head.

 

[CatfishVT9]

I got to attend the Message To The Field in San Diego the other day. What an awesome party! Everyone had a great time.


Second, he said SWA is unsure about charging fees on ATN flights during the integration due to the fact that recent ATN financials show they would be losing money without the fees.

Finally, he expressed concern over the bad attitudes a poor SLI could create at SWA, though he wouldn't commit to a specific plan to deal with the possibility.

Back to the original post here........

Two thoughts here. First on the bag fee question, just from my observation as an AT pilot (before and after bag fees) and from the few times I've ridden on SWA planes, I'd guess that the assigned seating and bag fees add at least 15 minutes to the turn times. I'd suspect that as soon as the gates agents get retrained and "de-atlanatuded", the increase in aircraft utilization may mitigate the bag fee revenue. Again, not an expert, just an observer.

Second, just exactly what did Gary Kelly mean by bad attitudes over a poor SLI? Did the CEO of one of the most employee friendly places to work in the world mean "those new guys better play ball"? Or did it mean "don't screw the new guys". I would bet that it is somewhere in the middle since he wants a happy and productive employee group once it is all said and done. The sure way to kill the SWA culture is for EITHER side to screw the other.

 

[Flopgut]

Why not give AAI pilots special seniority in ATL? Like AA did TWA in STL.....