SWA / Frontier Deal Off For Now!

[shootr]

It's a forum post from SWAPA, specifically SWAPA Comms.

 

[canyonblue737]

airlinepilot: its all real. things started moving fast early last night. swapa keeps a twitter account with details and numerous domicile reps as well as people on the M&A committee have been posting nearly every few hours on the changing conditions in the frontier forum folder. i suspect SWAPA will remain silent on our front page and publicly, as has SWA in the Today@SWA etc., because the situation is so dynamic and likely to play out in the next few days if not the next few hours.

 

[canyonblue737]

Are you serious? Any SWA F/O who has an F9 CAPTAIN stapled behind him just got a HUGE windfall.

Again SWA is going to grow in the next few years and has many aircraft orders. Clearly SWA would prefer to get these markets overnight from F9 and then use those orders to switch to the 737 but if the deal doesn't happen that doesn't mean no growth at SWA, it means organic and perhaps slightly slower and perhaps more expensive to SWA growth. Either way our junior guy expected growth behind him. If you insert the majority of F9 guys ahead of him then all the next few years increase in airplanes won't benefit his seniority position at all and then it means that the purchase of F9 actually HURT his seniority. Having the F9 guys behind him and the next few years worth of 737s going to support ex-F9 routes simply represents his original expectations, just with pilots below him from F9 instead of the street.

 

[Cobraair75drvr]

It is almost funny how desperate the junior sw pilots seem to be as they try to convince the f9s how great a staple would be. Sw is not winning denver. You guys are not use to going in somewhere and not winning(you are not the sw of yester year. closer and closer to a legacy everyday). If this doesn't go thru and f9 survives or goes with rep. southwest has a huge problem on their hands in den. Y'all are losing in denver. There are not that many places left to pick the low hanging fruit for the growth your company needs to keep overall costs in check. Without this and a retreat in denver look for furloughs.

 

[shootr]

I am not junior. I am a senior FO with a good schedule. I would likely lose little if this went to an arbitrator (which it won't). I have a duty to my fellow SWAPA members to protect their seniority as their dues pay for my union. Not all about me.

shootr

 

[Quiet Flight]

Staple or RAH? NO brainer. Take the dang staple at WN... Please!

Copy your post. Paste it in an email to your union reps. Hit send. Over and over and over and over and over... Or don't. I'm sure RAH will be awesome too. Judging by the pay rates on APC, the F9 guys will clean up as RAH f/o's as opposed to being WN f/o's.

 

[California]

in the news, found via yahoo finance - LUV
Southwest Airlines' bid for Frontier may be in trouble 9:45 AM CT


[SIZE=-1]10:22 AM CDT on Thursday, August 13, 2009[/SIZE]


[SIZE=-1]By ERIC TORBENSON / The Dallas Morning News[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1][email protected] [/SIZE]

Southwest Airlines' bid for Frontier Airlines may be in trouble.
According to an e-mail purportedly sent from Southwest’s pilot union to its members, the union failed to reach a deal with Frontier’s pilots union last night over integration terms. Getting that deal is a condition of Southwest’s bid.
Also Online
Southwest Airlines sees big potential with Frontier bid
Airline Biz blog: Get the latest news and commentary on the industry


The e-mail from the union says Southwest will ask for an extension on its $170 million bid for Frontier’s assets, as the auction was set to take place on Thursday.
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association spokesman Neal

 

[vixin]

Are you serious? Any SWA F/O who has an F9 CAPTAIN stapled behind him just got a HUGE windfall.

And that F9 CA just received a raise(pre concesion pay) with that staple. Better benefits, stable employment all for giving up a stripe. Are F9 CA really that arrogant? I also do not believe anyone would be furloughed in the deal. Gary's plan was for more expantion after the deal was done. Why is it windfalls for F9 are ok. I dont think windfalls for anyone are, but its not like F9 guys were getting nothing for the staple. If the F9 CA got date of hire what does the SWA pilots(FO) get? Nothing and a lower relative senority to boot.

 

[Caveman]

A few things to consider.

Forget pride, ego and what seat you were in at F9 for a moment. The staple offer was extremely generous if you only look at dollars and cents. In fact it was so generous that some F9 CAs may have been making more than SWA FO's that would be senior to them. Add in the longevity for vacations, etc and it was an unbelievable offer. Remember that old adage about if something is too good to be true? I have to wonder why the offer was so lucrative from SWA? Maybe they have no intention of ever actually having to make good on those promises. Furloughs? Liquidation?

Maybe the reason the offer was so good is because SWA has to get this done. They've shown their cards and are all in. Maybe the downside of a reinforced RAH in DIA is a nightmare they don't want to deal with. Maybe the upside of eliminating F9, hindering RAH's growth and going head to head with UAL on a equal basis is just too good to pass up, no matter the cost.

I don't know the answers to any of this. I agree on one thing, the F9 MEC either made a real smart decision or an incredibly stupid one. If it was the smart decision he has some extremely large cajones to make that call.

 

[Quiet Flight]

Latest rumor from SWAPA rep: WN is going to pull the plug on their bid later today. Apparently the extension is not what SWA really wants at this point. They were hoping FAPA would come around but are prepared for Plan B.

For the record, I seriously doubt this is true. Would suck for those F9 guys though if it turns out it is. "Well honey this is the deal I could have had, but we said no. So do you want to move to Indy or Columbus? By the way, we'll have no money. Oh and I'll be furloughed behind the 104 currently on furlough at RAH."

I'll be curious to see what the second act for WN will be...