Don, I'm not saying AAI didn't bring anything to the table, just that the pilots are only bringing themselves. The CBA of AT is a liability for SWAPA, not a bad thing, yet a liability which must be dealt with in any case.
Has harm come to swapa pilots? Yes. Biggest being a thing we call culture, hard to describe to those on the outside, I'll just leave it to say we don't want to see our culture destroyed by the shenanigans of an outside suitor. We believe in starting at the bottom and working your way up. Not as punishment nor a haze, but as training in the art of our spirit, you learn by doing, not by reading a book, again, something hard for outsiders to understand so the first thing they usually do is throw out terms like "elitist".
You mention aircraft numbers; again, AT pilots bring zero aircraft, those belonged to AT, bought by SWA, from monies earned by SWA pilots. AT pilots bring a liability of industry arbitrations showing seat locks, counter to reasonable seniority awards. This would be "a harm" against those SWA FO's who are senior to an AT pilot who gets to keep his seat, get our pay which we spent negotiating capital on, and gets it for life.
Do you not agree SWA pilots sacrificed a minimum three years of no growth/zero upgrades so cash could be accumulated for the eventual buyout of AAI? That money could have purchased SWA jets, not AT jets.
You mention the hypothetical DAL takeover of SWA, given SWA's track record, it's more likely the other way around. We have cash on hand to buy AA outright, but aren't that stupid.
I'll finish and say I see your point, but my point makes more sense, so we'll have to agree to disagree.
