New AAI ALPA Strategy: Fire SWA Haters!

[SWA/FO]

A little more thankfulness and a little less entitlement would suit you well.

exactly. :cartman:

 

[madjack]

Ty,

You have the law on your side and you will be MUCH better off at SWA than you would have been at any other pax carrier, you know you are getting a great deal via this acquisition, not saying you didn't earn it and that good fortune was not on your side...but your gain may come at the expense of SWA pilots that have been in this business as long as you and have served at SWA longer than you have served at AAI..ALL current SWA pilots helped build the company and the contract that will give you and your family a significant boost in wealth...

 

[shootr]

Ty,

You have the law on your side...

Wrong! The law is on both of our sides. Again, madjack, you are too pessimistic about arbitration. Fair and equitable does NOT have to mean relative/DOH. Fair and equtable with no windfall can mean many things. Just because lots of guys on the other side (and fake Delta guys) state what you fear as truth, that doesn't make it the truth or the future. Call your NC guys and they'll give you more confidence (which you seem to need). Right now you need to be strong - not weak.

shootr

 

[madjack]

shootr,

If there was no M/B we would not be having this discussion...it would go ala Morris...M/B strengthens the position of the pilots at the "weaker" carrier...not pessimistic, just realistic...anything other than preferential interviews, a type req't, and starting at the bottom is in my opinion a great deal no current SWA pilot (or employee) ever got...

 

[redflyer65]

I have to agree with shootr on this one. The gains on the AAI are so lopsided that the aribitor won't turn a blind eye a list that long. No fears of arbitration what-so-ever. Review the Air Midwest SLI where the arbitor states that the QOL/pay gap was too vast to pull a realitive seniority award.

Gary's got a handle on how far he's willing to let this slide, because he knows if he doesn't it will get ugly fast with 6000 upset SW pilots. Show me were in M/B that says all new orders can't come to SW (already happening), and were routes/cities on the Guadalupe side can't be dropped. I think you're gonna see some smaller AAI cities that might have been weak sisters might not make the cut it in the SW world. I hope we don't lose any combined cities, but to say it's not a possiblity is to stick your head in the sand. Just like SW could incure more 'shoulder cuts' over the off season.

 

[slaquer5]

shootr,

If there was no M/B we would not be having this discussion...it would go ala Morris...M/B strengthens the position of the pilots at the "weaker" carrier...not pessimistic, just realistic...anything other than preferential interviews, a type req't, and starting at the bottom is in my opinion a great deal no current SWA pilot (or employee) ever got...

You might want to review the Morris Air deal. The company wanted to interview all the Morris pilots ,it was swapa that stood up for the morris pilots.
I am thinking you do not have very much trust in SWA HQ. You will see

 

[27 driver]

History can be a great teacher: Let history show, Southwest Airlines would get rid of "troubled group". Example: TranStar/Muse. Don't become Air Tran(Star)

http://www.museair.com/

OOOHHHHH we are so scared.

 

[SWA/FO]

OOOHHHHH we are so scared.

I would be. I would want "on the list" ASAP.

With your 4,000 hours, you wouldn't even be competitive to get a call for an interview at Southwest. Talk about winning the lottery.

 

[Lear70]

Heh heh... 27 driver probably has closer to 14,000 hours by now. That's an old profile update.

 

[scoreboardII]

I would be. I would want "on the list" ASAP.

With your 4,000 hours, you wouldn't even be competitive to get a call for an interview at Southwest. Talk about winning the lottery.

FYI:


http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/06/06/airline.industry.outlook/index.html?iref=allsearch

 

[Lear70]

Luckily, we're insulated from the majority of those problems.

The slow down in LAM flying and the issues in Pan-Asia are hurting DAL and AA and CAL, but the domestic and Caribbean markets we fly are doing well, witnessed by the 10.6% increase year-over-year traffic for a combined AAI/SWA this month.

Pretty certain we'll both post profits this year. Summer travel is strong, and pre-bookings for seasonal holiday travel is up as well. Fuel sucks, no doubt, and our revenue will have to increase to offset it. Wouldn't be surprised to see some industry-wide fare hikes starting up later this summer / early Fall.

Southwest May traffic up 10.6 pct. with AirTran
Southwest traffic up 10.6 percent in May, month that marked $1 billion acquisition of AirTran

DALLAS (AP) -- Southwest Airlines Co. said Tuesday its combined traffic with AirTran rose 10.6 percent in May, the month the airline closed its $1 billion acquisition.

AirTran Airways became a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. on May 2. The deal overnight increased Southwest's traffic by about 25 percent. Southwest, which is based in Dallas, already flew more U.S. passengers than any other airline before the deal.

The companies said paying passengers flew 9.21 billion miles last month, compared with a combined 8.33 billion a year earlier. At Southwest alone, traffic increased by 10.7 percent. AirTran's traffic rose 10.1 percent.

The airlines' combined capacity, or number of available seats, rose 4.2 percent to 11.14 billion available seat miles.

Their planes were also fuller last month, with the combined occupancy rate increasing by 4.8 percentage points to 82.7 percent.

So far this year, the airlines together have seen the number of passengers on their flights increase by 4.2 percent and traffic rise by 9.9 percent.

While the companies officially combined last month, they won't operate as a single airline until 2012.

 

[Luv2BFlyin]

A little more thankfulness and a little less entitlement would suit you well.

Don't get us wrong, we're very thankful to your mgmt for the airline they've created and grown as well as given you the contract you enjoy. We don't for a minute though believe that SWAPA has some super stellar negotiators never before seen in commercial aviation and that SWAPA is singularly responsible for the position you now enjoy. You should be thankful that Mgmt had the foresight to merge with a formidable opponent so you could start growing again, that's why you fly airplanes and they manage .

 

[Flycatcher99]

Uh, yes I can refute that, Chief. My employment was A-OK, and I was/am in the top third of our seniority list. A good place to be.

Save the cutsie derogatory terms.

Are you hard of reading? I said you cannot refute the fact that AAI pilots were in the midst of a labor fiasco, or that the picture of your overall employment, when compared with that at SWA, was not good. "Overall" means the pilot group. No self-respecting, truthful professional pilot would argue that a pilot job at AAI in September 2010 bore the economic equality and stability of a pilot job at SWA. You say that you were personally happy and content with your position at AAI, and I can appreciate that, but the employment situation (pay, schedule, benefits, etc) for a pilot at AAI was not as good as a pilot's situation at SWA. That's a fact, and no amount of spin is going to change that.

Yes, and I can see that you are also an FO, and prior to that, you were a 1900 pilot. I'm sure you are happy as a pig in poo, and wish this would go away, too. :crying: It's actually a good deal for you, but you can't see it yet. Stay tuned. Wait a few years.

What does my having flown 1900's have to do with anything? SWA pilots are not at peace with this deal, whether they flew 1900's, CRJ's, F16's, or C130's prior to SWA. I have yet to meet one that is. Some are trying to be guardedly optimistic, myself included. But I can tell you this: the mood on September 27 was meloncholic, at best, and it hasn't changed much. Opposite reaction from AAI guys.

And for you to insinuate that you have some rare intelligence that is able to see more clearly than myself or any other SWA pilot how "good a deal" this is, only shows that you are confusing the issue. This acquisition could very well become a good deal for the overall company. We shall see. But you are confusing the "deal" for the company versus the "deal" that SWA pilots are being dealt. Two interdependent, but still separate issues.

Uh, yeah. And how many years of SWA seniority and industry experience do you have? Just like to know who I'm taking advice from. :erm:

Not that it matters, but I've got over 20 years in the industry. But it doesn't take even half that to be able to sort out the nuances of this acquisition, and to be able to identify someone who is spinning the truth in a weak attempt at personal gain.

 

[Flycatcher99]

Don't get us wrong, we're very thankful to your mgmt for the airline they've created and grown as well as given you the contract you enjoy. We don't for a minute though believe that SWAPA has some super stellar negotiators never before seen in commercial aviation and that SWAPA is singularly responsible for the position you now enjoy. You should be thankful that Mgmt had the foresight to merge with a formidable opponent so you could start growing again, that's why you fly airplanes and they manage .

I appreciate your sentiment. I'm not sure where you got the idea, though, that I lack appreciation for my own position. I am extremely thankful, both to the powers that be at SWA, not to mention to God Himself, that I am where I am.

My thankfulness is not the issue, though. My point was one of entitlement, which it would seem that some have an issue with, and a humble suggestion that some of that entitlement would be better replaced with gratefulness for this newfound opportunity. And before anyone tries to make a case that SWA pilots are showing entitlement, please remember whose sandbox we are all jumping into.

Now, if this acquisition ends up bettering this company, as well as all the pilots, then I will be even more grateful to our management. Until then, this group will likely remain cautiously optimistic, at best.

 

[scoreboardII]

Flycatcher, nominated best posts of 2011.