Question about SWA/AirTran deal

[BlueBlood]

I had originally heard that there was no "labor contingency" in the deal, then recently I have been hearing that folks are concerned that it may not be necessarily a "done deal". After hearing more than one of my tranny pals talking about their concern for the deal being questionable, I did some digging. Well.......I don't have the friendships I thought I had at SWA, but the few that did talk to me said there was nothing official. However, they said it would not be a surprise for GK to have something weird in the deal that gives him an out.

 

[Tripower455]

Keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Kharma Police]

I had originally heard that there was no "labor contingency" in the deal, then recently I have been hearing that folks are concerned that it may not be necessarily a "done deal". After hearing more than one of my tranny pals talking about their concern for the deal being questionable, I did some digging. Well.......I don't have the friendships I thought I had at SWA, but the few that did talk to me said there was nothing official. However, they said it would not be a surprise for GK to have something weird in the deal that gives him an out.

Did you talk to the same Southwest FOs in BUF too?!?!

 

[Full of LUV]

Keeping my fingers crossed!

But what about ATL and International??????

 

[Kharma Police]

But what about ATL and International??????

Deleted

 

[redflyer65]

Gary is all about business. I'm sure there is a clause where he could cancel the purchase if he wanted too. Want would trigger that? I have no idea.

From the SWA side, we haven't heard much from Gary execpt what has been released to the public.

RF

 

[WildcatFan]

Gary will have a way out - 100% confident on that. If the SLI for any of the big labor groups gets real ugly he will do something about it. (717s???) When he thought SWAPA was acting outside the norm for our culture when negotiating for our -800s he stepped in and said in person that he would kill the deal, period. I believe him and so did SWAPA. I don't underestimate how smart he is, and don't believe anyone will strong-arm him into to an unfavorable situation. There is a lot of room in the law here and you can bet he knows it.

 

[Cruncher]

He'll have to pay a $39 million break up fee. That is, to cancel the acquisition.

 

[Kharma Police]

Gary will have a way out - 100% confident on that. If the SLI for any of the big labor groups gets real ugly he will do something about it. (717s???) When he thought SWAPA was acting outside the norm for our culture when negotiating for our -800s he stepped in and said in person that he would kill the deal, period. I believe him and so did SWAPA. I don't underestimate how smart he is, and don't believe anyone will strong-arm him into to an unfavorable situation. There is a lot of room in the law here and you can bet he knows it.

Every deal has an exit, if it didn't he wouldn't be doing his job properly. I'm sure The Falcon has the same arrangement.

The question that hasn't been asked by the Southwest guys on this board is that if Mr. Kelly was so concerned about us Critters becoming a fly in your ointment then why didn't he let SWAPA work out the seniority issues as a contingency to buying AirTran like he did with Frontier?

I know the answer and I'm sure you Southwest guys do too, you just won't admit it.

 

[jball2]

Personally, I don't think he ever intended for the Frontier thing to happen. He only gave SWAPA and FAPA six hours to negotiate for the rest of their careers. I do think Gary got what he wanted out of the deal though.

 

[scrub]

The train has left the station!!

 

[redflyer65]

Jball is correct. The F9 thing was a complete ruse. Got a good look at the books though..

 

[chase]

Every deal has an exit, if it didn't he wouldn't be doing his job properly. I'm sure The Falcon has the same arrangement.

The question that hasn't been asked by the Southwest guys on this board is that if Mr. Kelly was so concerned about us Critters becoming a fly in your ointment then why didn't he let SWAPA work out the seniority issues as a contingency to buying AirTran like he did with Frontier?

I know the answer and I'm sure you Southwest guys do too, you just won't admit it.

KP,

I will attempt to give you an answer from my internal observations. Since you already have the "answer", you may disagree with my opinion but that is the great thing about FI.

If GK thought merging companies was going to harm the company's bottom line or significantly harm the culture, the deal wouldn't have gone through. He obviously believes the SWA employees can and will make this work with the help of highly motivated AirTran employees who he presumed would enjoy joining a company with a vastly different approach to their employees.

F9 and AAI situations are two very different situations; bankruptcy judges, tight timelines, different fleet types and a competing bidder for F9 assets (most folks forget that RAH outbid SWA and the creditors chose the $.18 a share offer vs. the $.12 a share offer from SWA...the SLI issue was a small reason among many for why it didn't go).

GK believes the SLI issue can be worked out among the two pilot groups. There is also a 24 month timeline (written into the SWA/SWAPA CBA) that is ticking that if the two operations can not be merged, SWA must come back to SWAPA and negotiate an extension to the 24 month timeline or seek other solutions.

Lots of what-ifs but at the end of the day this can be worked out in a "fair and reasonable" fashion, not pleasing all pilots mind you but one that can combine two solid operations into a great airline with huge potential for growth and expansion.

What is your explanation?

Thanks in advance,

Respectfully,

 

[Whataburger]

Maybe the Frontier situation was a dress rehearsal for the AirTran deal?
I am sure he learned a lot.

Let's just get this deal done!!

Let's just send this straight to arbitration. We are pilots. We all think we should be a Captain with great seniority. Seniority is all we have. I am pretty certain that SWAPA and ALPA will not come to an agreement.

If I was alpo, God forbid, I would have a sticker:

ARBITRATION, GIT 'ER DONE!!!

 

[dicko]

If I was alpo, God forbid, I would have a sticker:

ARBITRATION, GIT 'ER DONE!!!

I think you'll find the ALPA stickers are very easily removed. Gleefully in most cases.

Unfortunately a 'tramp stamp' ALPA tatoo above the buttocks is not so easy to remove. It's expensive and painful. We have started a fund for PCL 128.
Along with the purchase of a HD Video camera.

 

[Richard Gozinya]

It's expensive and painful. We have started a fund for PCL 128.
Along with the purchase of a HD Video camera.

Just send a PM to Joey Merchant, he'll do it for pennies............on second thought, he'll probably pay us for the priviledge. Don't know if he'll let us video it though.

 

[Kharma Police]

KP,

I will attempt to give you an answer from my internal observations. Since you already have the "answer", you may disagree with my opinion but that is the great thing about FI.

If GK thought merging companies was going to harm the company's bottom line or significantly harm the culture, the deal wouldn't have gone through. He obviously believes the SWA employees can and will make this work with the help of highly motivated AirTran employees who he presumed would enjoy joining a company with a vastly different approach to their employees.

F9 and AAI situations are two very different situations; bankruptcy judges, tight timelines, different fleet types and a competing bidder for F9 assets (most folks forget that RAH outbid SWA and the creditors chose the $.18 a share offer vs. the $.12 a share offer from SWA...the SLI issue was a small reason among many for why it didn't go).

GK believes the SLI issue can be worked out among the two pilot groups. There is also a 24 month timeline (written into the SWA/SWAPA CBA) that is ticking that if the two operations can not be merged, SWA must come back to SWAPA and negotiate an extension to the 24 month timeline or seek other solutions.

Lots of what-ifs but at the end of the day this can be worked out in a "fair and reasonable" fashion, not pleasing all pilots mind you but one that can combine two solid operations into a great airline with huge potential for growth and expansion.

What is your explanation?

Thanks in advance,

Respectfully,

I am in total agreement with your assessment. I wonder if other pilots, mainly your first officers share that same view point? I will add however that this "acquisition" is key to an overall growth strategy that will insure long term profitably for both of our combined employee groups. I have stated in the past and your CEO has admitted that you are maxed out growth wise with your current route map. To answer the question, this merger will go through because Mr. Kelly wants it to go through regardless of what SWAPA or ALPA has to say. He is playing it smart by staying out of the process this time so when the lists are combined he can just shrug his shoulders and say to both groups, "sorry boys, it's the law". The combined companies will grow and prosper and we will hopefully enjoy the rest of our careers. I am very excited and am looking forward to working with you all!

 

[Daddy]

Jball is correct. The F9 thing was a complete ruse. Got a good look at the books though..

I agree...F9 was never a serious offer in my opinion, but successfully drove up the price for Republic!

Gary will drop this thing like a bad habit if it goes south...the man just does not like things that are super-complicated (think anything IT-related at SWA, wifi, international flying). If it's too hard, Gary wants no part of it, believe me. I really dont think it will get ugly, but if it starts to and AT folks are wanting seat protection on top of their big pay raise and labor at SWA gets riled, I suppose it could happen.

 

[Richard Gozinya]

....................

 

[SKC]

...like things that are super-complicated (think anything IT-related at SWA, wifi, international flying).

I don't really think GK has anything against intl flying in particular, other than our res system is not capable of making intl reservations. It can't compute exchange rates, foreign currency, intl taxes, etc. That's a big investment for a new res system for some routes that may or may not be that profitable. So, it's far easier to save the money and stay close to home for the time being.