He's got a point. Being forced into a commute after the virtual closure of a domicile is an extreme QOL hit.
It's equally extreme when you bid, move to a domicile, get forced out on a negative bid and then can't get back to the still open domicile for years because folks from the acquired airline are taking the slots. SWApA really screwed our junior guys by fighting ROR, but hey, at least
I can snowbird my boat a little easier without that pesky ROR hampering my efforts!
Southwest is a W2 airline. They tend to look at W2 to the exclusion of all else. Some are little things like paid parking, paid uniforms. Others are bigger like no right of return, no long call reserve etc.
Funny, I always said the same about DAL and AA back in the day. My old man was a Pan Am guy that was "Acquired" by DAL with the atlantic routes. That was his, almost verbatim statement about QOL at DAL vs. Pan Am.
A close friend is a semi senior AA Capt. and for years, he made a lot more $$$ than I did at SW. Even 15 years ago, I wouldn't have traded schedules for twice what he was earning though.
I still wouldn't. My QOL and schedule flexibility are orders of magnitude better than his.
Money can't buy back time away from the family and, at least for most of the AirTran folks, commuting isn't a "choice".
The same can be said for lots of SW folks, and the issue has been exacerbated for them by the AT acquisition, in spite of their "global seniority gains".
Their base was dissolved out from beneath them. It's no more right than what happened to the TWA guys in St. Louis or the USAir folks from da'burgh. But we can't say they made out great as a blanket statement without looking at how the transaction impacted quality of life.
There was (and is) PLENTY of harm to go around on the SW side too. The only ones who gained anything were the folks who upgraded on the backs of the forfeited AT Capt seats. The rest of us got nothing (if we were lucky) and less. A lot of AT folks are getting raises to help compensate somewhat for their forced commute. Our guys get nothing for it as they watch former Air Tran folks take the seats they were displaced from.
Thanks GK!