SWA to speed up Airtran integration.....article

[Bake]

Are you guys done yet? You are all correct in your feelings!! Now that your feelings are substantiated can we move on. Ty, I'm surprised you got caught up in this debate. T&A guys, T&A. Screw money, you will always get screwed out of it. Move on without the org. buy a gun, hire a GFE, pet your boat, kiss a FATtie, kiss a SWaPie. Make love to a delta flight attendant and be happy you never have to do it again.

 

[SWAdude]

So what I said is provoking them but you aren't. Most of us didn't want this. But like you guys like to say.....83% of you guys voted for it.

No. 83% voted for what we thought was best under the circumstances. The vote would have been a much higher percentage if it was about buying your airline.

 

[ATLplt]

...and to double your pay with the new SWAPA contract?

Just trying to understand what you thought was realistic here.

You mean I get to make $230k next year as an FO? Sweet.

 

[27 driver]

No. 83% voted for what we thought was best under the circumstances. The vote would have been a much higher percentage if it was about buying your airline.

What? Isn't that what happened?

 

[redflyer65]

You mean I get to make $230k next year as an FO? Sweet.

Was that my question?


Please answer.... What did you realistically expect?

 

[maxblast72]

These seats would have been lost with the 717 announcement, as well. The language in the agreement you came back with was so weak, you might as well have come back with a handful of magic beans.

Not exactly. Let's say the rate that B717s left the property was higher than rate new B737s came on property and the total number of Captains required systemwide dropped from 4,000 to 3,900 (a vacancy bid with a -100 in the CA seat). The 100 most junior AirTran Captains would have lost their seats during this bid. However, these downgraded AirTran Captains still had a Captain retention slot through 9/27/2020. No SWA FO could upgrade until every AirTran pilot with a Captain Retention slot had been offered their seat back. Now, if the downgraded AirTran Captain did not take the reupgrade, he/she lost the Captain retention slot forever.

Why did SWAPA agree to this? My belief is that SWA management told SWAPA they were not going to eat the training associated with allowing guys to bump around (SIA #1 seat locked everyone for 3 years except for allowing AirTran B737 guys to bid vacancies caused by retiring B717 guys).

"Max", there is a reason your wife made you stop posting on the ATN71 forum . . . and if she knew what you were up to here, she'd shut you down here, as well.

My wife didn't kick me off the forum. She was actually becoming a crack addict too. I just couldn't leave the discussion like I was giving up so that seemed like a good excuse. The funny thing is, there was a B737 CA that tried to get me in trouble by "telling" on me one of my failed "cold turkey" attempts. My wife thought he was a tool. That wasn't you was it?

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

Was that my question?


Please answer.... What did you realistically expect?

I'll answer this one for him. Bottom line much more than he got. He and most AAI pilots expected an arbitrated solution that based on past awards would have given him DOH +, the swapa contract, fences and seat protection.

It's sort of like the Christmas Vacation scene where Clark is expecting the big bonus check and gets something else. The anger isn't based on what they got it is based on what they got versus what they were expecting.

To be fair with the way Airtran is being drawn down with little movement across the partition I believe there are some guys over there who financially have it very tough right now. Idle hands and an empty checkbook tend to bring out the worst in people.

 

[canyonblue]

You mean I get to make $230k next year as an FO? Sweet.

You're making 115k at AirTran off your 75 hour guarantee? Even if you were a 12 year FO that would still come out to only 94k. I'm to understand that no one is making more than guarantee, at least that's what the complaining is all about.

 

[madjack]

Wow...we were expecting a staple, based on every previous SWA acquisition...so be "happy" the final result was closer to your expectations...

 

[canyonblue]

However, these downgraded AirTran Captains still had a Captain retention slot through 9/27/2020. No SWA FO could upgrade until every AirTran pilot with a Captain Retention slot had been offered their seat back.

Why did SWAPA agree to this?

They had to be drunk.:nuts: