With all of the back and forth that goes on there does not seem to be very much constructive exchange of information.
Based on laws that were passed and the agreements that were signed in each respective carriers CBA's it stands to reason that GK knew that he would have to integrate the pilot groups. Both CBA's required it. There would be one representative voice for that pilot group (SWAPA). All pilots would have to be covered under one CBA.
Maybe GK wants a B scale so that he can explore other avenues with smaller jets (Embraer or CS series)? Maybe he wants to have a B scale so that if he chooses to bring a larger jet on property he can manage costs better. One thing that is a certainty is that SWAPA will be the bargaining agent for all pilots at SWA. Your management works closely with it's employee groups but I am quite certain he does not share ALL his plans with you.
Yes, SWA is starting service into ATL in February and it is about time. As stated in the reports, AT provided 1 penny of every 15 cents that was made for the second quarter. Imagine what that profit would have been had the 737's from AT had been flying to Cancun from Phoenix 5 times a day. That is a huge part of the inbound traffic for SWA customers. Get off a SWA jet in Phoenix and get on another carrier to go to Cancun. Money lost. Why waste a 737 that can fly "Carribbean or Central America" international on a Houston turn. The market is there, it just has to be capitalized upon. The inefficiences of our scheduling department are of biblical proportions. Imagine what the contirbution to the second quarter profit would have been had AT crews been scheduled effectively and efficiently.
AT has pilots on this seniority list with amazing backgrounds and experiences. I come away from each trip with a greater appreciation with the paths that some have taken in this industry. SWA has the exact same kind of pilots. So does Delta, Untited, American, Jet Blue, Allegiant, Comair, American Eagle, PSA..... and so on. They are all human beings with families and friends, trials and tribulations, strengths and weaknesses.
SWA has the requirment to have a 737 type rating. Does not guarantee a job or an interview. Those that got hired at SWA got their type in one way or another.
My understanding is that the profit sharing has been in the $5-10K range????? Maybe if the integrated pilots did not receive their "share" of the profit sharing for a year or two? You can then recoup some of the cost of your type rating that seems to be the big differentiator. Now we can be part of the collective good and have some ownership in the success of SWA.
SL9 is gone. It stapled every pilot hired at AT since September 2005 (over 560 pilots) below the very last pilot on the SWA seniority list as of 9/26/2010. (Hired September 2008). SL9 guaranteed every 737 Captain that was flushed out of ATL would be the absolutely bottom bidding Captain in the SWA bid at every base until the last pilot hired in September 2008 had upgraded (10-12 years).
GK would not have done this deal if it was just going to earn a couple of extra pennies. He has much greater plans for the combined airline. Let the merger committees do their job.
He is obsessed with Southwest and Virgin America, probably because no one ever starts a thread on Alaska Airlines. Then again, why would they?
