Dear Bubba-
I'm writin' this reeaaaal sloowwww, 'cause I know you don't read too fast.
I wasn't sayin' nuthin' bad 'bout SWA, but I don't 'xpect yore gonna understand that, on account of you fallin' out of that tree on your haid when we was little.
I know sometimes you gets mad over stuff you don't understand, but that's OK, I'm still yore friend.
Your buddy,
Forrest.
Actually, I liked the FIRST way you wrote this post better, before you completely replaced it with the Forrest Gump version; the first one was more, well... you know,...
you:
Bubba,
Grow the f___ up.
Seriously.
If you didn't mean to say anything bad about SWA, then you've shown some really some bad communication skills on occasion. WaveFlyer made a comment that you got an "improved contract w/o striking" due to the acqusition. Your reply to that idea was: "
I, along with most other AAI Captains, got a whopping 8% raise, after 6 years of negotiations. We would have gotten 20-30%. I'll be on this contract for 4 years. Thanks a bunch." The implication in your reply to Wave is that the aquisition hurt you in that the contract netted you only 8% raise instead of 20-30% you would have gotten had there been no acqusition. Do you really not see that implication? That's a serious question, by the way.
Tell you what-- I will just ask straight out and clearly. And don't worry, I'll still be your friend regardless:
Do you, Ty Webb, really believe that SWA's acquistion of Airtran, caused you to suffer under a substantially lower-paying AAI contract, than if there had been no acquisition? There, a simple yes or no, and there will be no more misunderstanding. Either you said it poorly, or the rest of us heard it poorly, or what was implied was indeed what you meant.
A simple answer and it will all be cleared up, there won't be anymore mud-slinging or name calling, and we can all go back to being friends. Sound reasonable? (And don't forget to type your answer slow, so I can read it, okay?

)
Thanks.
Bubba
PS By the way, thank you very much for the professional, curteous, and mature advice in your original post. I'll take it under advisement.