Potential bidder circling Sun Country Airlines

[1031Guy]

Sun Country is ALPA and would not do harm to the Air Tran pilots ability to negotiate a contract. I think Air Tran has few worries about scabs at SCA. That being said, I don't think it's Air Tran looking at SCA. They have looked twice at SCA and balked twice. Plus, I think Air Tran would know what they would be buying this time around since Stan Gadek is running the show at SCA. My feeling is it's a private buyer not another airline.

Great Schaf...another millionaire who thinks owning an airline would be fun. Just what we need!

 

[Lear70]

Also every suncountry or skywest pilot who was to fly the struck at Tranny will be labeled a scab and never get hired anywhere else again. Skywest has avoided this so far but they could become a scab outfit very shortly with only a few AC. Tranny needs a strike vote now and ASAP cooling off.

Not necessarily. They would ONLY be labeled as Scabs IF the AirTran MEC notified all airlines that:

1. They ARE requesting that pilots not fly any AirTran routes.
2. They declare ALL routes to be "struck work".
3. The SCA and/or Skywest pilots then flew ANYWAY.

You have to declare your routes as "struck work" in advance of the strike in time for other MEC's to notify their management and advise their pilots what is considered "struck work".

That's only technicaly true if they were actually employed by Air Tran. Look at the NWA strike back in 98. All the regionals still operated. I don't hear anyone calling Mesaba scabs.

Not quite. Reference above.

Not true. XJ and PCL (Express) did not fly struck work, and basically ceased operations for the duration of the NWA strike.

That's somewhat true, but not the whole story.

I was flying at PCL during the Northwest strike. Northwest requested both Pinnacle and Mesaba to continue their EXISTING flying, and only labeled "struck work" as routes that neither PCL nor Mesaba flew BEFORE the strike and/or any ADDITIONAL pairings between cities that were served by NWA mainline.

They didn't want to see PCL or Mesaba pilots harmed by the companies disciplining pilots for refusing to fly and knew that the airlinks had only enough uplift to offset about 20% of all mainline flying. In Other Words, they could still hold an effective strike having only 50- seat CRJ's and Saabs out there running in the system.

Both PCL and Mesaba were allowed to continue flying during the NWA strike, but management quickly parked everyone when it was obvious that they couldn't do anything but strand their connecting passengers. The important thing to note is that PCL and Mesaba never had to choose to shut down operations in a "sympathy strike" or "struck work" situation because the NWA pilots never asked for such. At least, that's my recollection of it and what our MEC relayed.

 

[magrs]

Festival Airlines?

 

[Flying the Line]

Southwest, for sure. SCA is the reason WN hasn't added any flights from MSP, then throw in ETOPS 120 and 180. SWA is my bet.

 

[B727Driver]

Turn key ops in the islands as well as Mexico...SWA is my bet as well.

 

[SRMairlines]

I would not count Alaska out of this bidding either...

 

[DoinTime]

I was flying at PCL during the Northwest strike. Northwest requested both Pinnacle and Mesaba to continue their EXISTING flying, and only labeled "struck work" as routes that neither PCL nor Mesaba flew BEFORE the strike and/or any ADDITIONAL pairings between cities that were served by NWA mainline.

They didn't want to see PCL or Mesaba pilots harmed by the companies disciplining pilots for refusing to fly and knew that the airlinks had only enough uplift to offset about 20% of all mainline flying. In Other Words, they could still hold an effective strike having only 50- seat CRJ's and Saabs out there running in the system.

Both PCL and Mesaba were allowed to continue flying during the NWA strike, but management quickly parked everyone when it was obvious that they couldn't do anything but strand their connecting passengers. The important thing to note is that PCL and Mesaba never had to choose to shut down operations in a "sympathy strike" or "struck work" situation because the NWA pilots never asked for such. At least, that's my recollection of it and what our MEC relayed.

Richard...you didn't get hired at Express I until two years, eleven months, and 19 days after the '98 NWA strike started. Neither Express I or Mesaba were given the option of a continued operation and nobody was operating 50-seat RJs at the time. In fact, the only RJs that were in service at the time were fewer than 20 Avros at Mesaba. Northwest had no intention of running an airline with around 100 dusty old Saabs and a handful of Avros.

 

[Lear70]

Richard...you didn't get hired at Express I until two years, eleven months, and 19 days after the '98 NWA strike started. Neither Express I or Mesaba were given the option of a continued operation and nobody was operating 50-seat RJs at the time. In fact, the only RJs that were in service at the time were fewer than 20 Avros at Mesaba. Northwest had no intention of running an airline with around 100 dusty old Saabs and a handful of Avros.

You're right, Don, was in a hurry, thinking of the mechanic's strike a few years ago.

During the '98 pilot's strike I was at Flexjet...

 

[gearup5]

Don't worry about AIrtran they will screw it up.

 

[tzflyer]

Southwest already has a certificate with 180 ETOPS for the 737- ATA Airlines. They don't need to buy anybody to start the islands etc...

 

[crashpad]

Man, sounds like those Sun Country boys will score no matter who buys them.

 

[StaySeated]

Southwest already has a certificate with 180 ETOPS for the 737- ATA Airlines. They don't need to buy anybody to start the islands etc...

This is not a correct statement.

 

[schafjet]

Man, sounds like those Sun Country boys will score no matter who buys them.

That would be a first, but I'm not so sure this is a true statement.

 

[Quiet Flight]

.....

 

[vtwo]

Southwest, for sure. SCA is the reason WN hasn't added any flights from MSP, then throw in ETOPS 120 and 180. SWA is my bet.

Swa Bought ATA, they have the ETOPS cert already , Just need to dust it off and get some proving run's under the belt and Viola. .