Everyone on this board knows that this statement is pure BS. SWA management put a gun to the Air Tran pilots head and said sign or you're dead. Even my die=hard kool-aid drinking SWA pilot friends will readily admit this.
Money is not everything and it is a matter of perspective. Obviously many AT pilots don't feel this way and I wouldn't if I was in their shoes.
Absolutely true. There are quite a few of us bypassing the transition to SWA as long as we possibly can for this exact reason.
You can't match our Quality of Life over there, at least not while at work, and many of us don't NEED the money. Will it be nice eventually? Sure. Is it a "lottery ticket"? Not by a long shot. Not going back to nearly the bottom of the F/O seniority pile from nearly the top, with the resultant COMPLETE loss in bidding power that comes with it, no matter WHAT the pay increase is.
We understand you guys are proud of what you built, just like WE are proud of what WE built. We understand you didn't want to buy our company; after the fact, many of us wish we'd never been bought. But all this is water under the bridge, and continuing to pull the "you won the lottery so just shut up and say thank you" card isn't going to help you win your arguments.
You guys feel one way. We feel another. That's the ONLY, REAL truth that can be said. So why continue to run the one-liners out there that pi$$ everyone off?
Hope everyone has a safe, fun, and Happy New Year! We're going out to Nashville Steak and Oyster, having one hell of a good meal, then partying with friends watching the Guitar (music note now, what the heck is that about?) drop at midnight, try to forget the Dallas game last night (Tony Romo turnovers are what's for breakfast), and start the New Year fresh, focusing on the important things in life that I have the power to affect (and this ain't it, that ship has sailed).
Stay thirsty, my friends! :beer: