SWA/Airtran pilot integration thoughts, what will the new list look like?

[IAHERJ]

IAH- thanks for the kind words. You are one of the good ones. I want to come see your boat sometime. The beer is on me brother! WDE!!!!!!!!

Anytime, and yes, I'll take you up on the beer offer since you make more money than I do ! Of course, a real man would offer to buy the fuel.......my dad made that mistake once, once that is.......

 

[ATLplt]

Fair enough.

Kwick may not have been cordial in his post, but have you read how condescending a lot of your group has been to our pilots? I think a lot of what is being written on these threads lately is more a reaction to attitude and a general lack of class (from both sides) rather than true beliefs in what may go down. Things will get better when we stop lobbing cheap shots at each other.

 

[IAHERJ]

I've seen it. It has in fact caused me to become a real jerk in a lot of threads aimed at SWA. It wasn't until I realized an hour ago that I have no dog in this hunt anymore and that I have a few good friends at SWA that I decided to cut the crap. I hope the few that know who I really am don't take my pot shots and retorts as a shot at them personally. We are all just hauling passengers around chasing the same dollars. I hope this thing works out for all involved.

 

[ATLplt]

Did somebody say boat? Have gas/beer money... will boat whore with the best of em!

 

[jball2]

Very true ATLplt. I think some guys are just stirring the pot anyway. I may have just bitten off on it. All I can say is, the party over here is just going to get bigger. Let's make sure it get's better!

 

[jball2]

IAH- Who said we had to start it up. If I drink enough, I won't notice. I never took offense btw.

Everyone- we have a few on here who make it their life's work to come up with better flame bait than the next guy. Don't take them seriously. Picture a sinister smile and a can of Budweiser at the keyboard.

 

[IAHERJ]

Purchased my first boat on lake Lanier back in 2003. Hauled it out to Lake Travis. After replacing 2 trailer tires and 2 of the 3 trailer axles along with my bumper on the truck I finally arrived only to find out that the gas gauge didn't work and I ran it out of gas on day 1. After getting a tow into my slip I decided to move up to a larger boat. This time a twin engine cruiser with (2) 454's and a generator and all the bells and whistles one would expect from a boat of this size. I'm at CAL by this time and named the boat "layover". My next door neighbor in the slip next to me is a SWA captain and had a similar boat(SeaRay Sundancer 340) named, get this, "Quick Turn". Of course we had random days off during the week and the other owners would always stop buy and see us hanging out on the dock drinking beer etc. on a Tuesday afternoon and comment about how we pilots didn't ever have to work etc.... haha. it got old but they never stopped. Anyway, I've done just about everything you can do wrong in a boat on this lake including ingesting other anchor lines into my port prop and slamming into a 50 foot Formula while I was down in the cabin making margarita's thinking I was holding firmly on the "hook" on a Fall day under windy conditions.....me and boats, bad mix

 

[Kharma Police]

I like what I'm reading, mutual love and respect to you all! The Kharma Police isn't afraid to say he is getting misty eyed.......

 

[IAHERJ]

I like what I'm reading, mutual love and respect to you all! The Kharma Police isn't afraid to say he is getting misty eyed.......

Really? Well Up Yours!



I keed, I keed!

 

[Clyde Frog]

It is just that most of them viewed their job as a stepping stone until the industry stopped and they had nowhere to go.
.

Before 9/11 SWA lost a lot of pilots to places like UAL/DAL etc.

There seems to be a lot of arrogance coming from the SWA pilots on this forum. We're all very impressed with your stellar contract but it wasn't always that great and history guarantees it won't always be.

 

[dicko]

Coming up on 9 years actually. I live in Atlanta as well and was torn between "BIG D" and SWA. They both had much to offer and were completely different. One thing I knew for sure, was every one of my friends that went to SWA was a REAL friend. The ones that went to Delta never talked to me again after they got their Double Breasted ego. When I got my SWA interview, my REAL friends called me to ask how they could help. Between that and my first trip to "Mecca" in Dallas, I knew where I wanted to hang my hat. There was no doubt whatsoever.

The reason I never considered Airtran was because, at the time, I made nearly as much at my regional as junior AT captains. The pay cut to start over was a much a bigger bite than I could handle financially.

As far as upgrades, I was told I would upgrade in 5 years at SWA so I think that argument about expected upgrade is moot. We are going to work this out and I think some of us may have to swallow bigger pills than others (those of us at SWA hired in my time frame are used to it). I still have no regrets at SWA but I think my 9 years should mean something. I don't think that is unreasonable.

Welcome to the family!

Interesting.

Who knows what your 9 years at SWA will get you. I hope it's what you want. I don't know what my 9 years at AT will get me. I never applied at SWA. I don't remember SW hiring at the end of 2002. Since you're there I'll defer to you. I have a bunch of friends there and hopefully more in the future. I don't think that anybody would argue that SW isn't a good airline.

Yes I met the requirements. No, I don't have any 'skeletons'; apart from the little incident with the "lotion on the skin"

I do know I've been in the left seat since the two and a half year mark at AT. What an arbitrator will think I don't know. The future appears to be notoriously difficult to predict.

Either way .... I'll swallow whatever an arbitrator hands out and either lift gear or buy beer. Or both.

 

[chase]

Clyde

Prior to 9/11 SWA hardly lost "a lot" of pilots to the legacy carriers.

We no doubt lost a few who chose to chase $$$. It says more about those individuals than it does about the culture of SWA IMHO.

The interesting question is how many of the pilots who left SWA for a legacy carrier regret that decision versus those who left a legacy carrier to come to SWA? Purely hypothetical obviously but of those I've spoken with there was a definite trend.

Doesn't make SWA a perfect place or better than other airlines. It is simple an indicator of reality for persons who have a very unique perspective.

I understand there are many reasons why AAI is a perfect match for some and SWA wasn't. That is why we all enjoy having choices.

 

[400ADude]

.

I understand there are many reasons why AAI is a perfect match for some and SWA wasn't. That is why we all enjoy having choices.

AAI was the only choice after everyone else rejected you, Southwest, Continental, Fedex, UPS, Delta, Netjets, Frontier, Alaska, back on Active Duty, 7-11, Walmart etc................

As far as AAI prior to 911. Don't even start. It wasn't an option except to those who could go no where else. Nobody went to Critter and stayed there prior 911 who really wasn't a piece of work: multiple DWI's, felony assautls, scabs, multiple busted check rides, horrible personality, bad credit it goes on and on and on. And just think Gary Kelly wants to put these people in front of YOU! Enjoy it all boys and girls.

 

[ATLplt]

nevermind

 

[Lear70]

AAI was the only choice after everyone else rejected you, Southwest, Continental, Fedex, UPS, Delta, Netjets, Frontier, Alaska, back on Active Duty, 7-11, Walmart etc................

Ummm, not really, no. For a while post-9/11, they were one of the only games in town for quite some time.

This is evidenced in the large attrition rates FROM AirTran TO many Legacy carriers and Southwest as well. A lot of pilots WERE employable at other carriers, just happened to end up at AirTran between their regionals and wherever they decided to go afterwards.

Some people stayed by choice (I turned down a jetBlue interview during my first year and got called by Northwest and United both from apps I had on file from before I went to AirTran that I had never pulled).

Your generalization is quite obviously flame bait, just wanted to interject a little reality into your diatribe.

Flame on.