Will SWA and AT truly merge?

[ASADFW7]

Dudes we are keeping the B717 they are headed out west get on board, your bags fly free. And no flight bag either.

 

[kwick]

It was not a theory but just a question. I guess the answer to the question was Yes they can do that. You apparently do not want to face that so you call me stupid. What you should have said was, yes it could happen but you do not think it would. However, as long as it is a possibility I would be concerned if I were an Airtran Pilot.
So, I will ask you again if you have the guts to answer it. Can SWA do that?

Or they could get rid of all
Their 737s and just keep the
717s and the AT guys.

 

[General Lee]

Really?

I think a 50% pay raise and better work rules is a better "textbook" example of a windfall.

Hey PALS!!! It doesn't matter. It won't be 50% when the arbitrator(s) see it. A new payrate will be established by then, making it a lot closer. (not really a windfall by then) The SLI is done after a joint contract or new payrate. The DL/NWA merger SLI had the NWA guys keeping their pensions, and getting a 30% pay raise per hour, and getting a fleet of more large planes (757s and up), and still it was pretty close to relative, + or - a few % points. I still think it will be a few hundred SWA guys all at the top, and then relative from there downward.

Regardless, ALL OF YOU ARE FANTASTICALLY COOL. 1st TEAM ALL AMERICANS. And, if you have time today, please do something nice for someone or something, like throwing a hungry walrus a dead bird you found on the beach. So what if he doesn't like that, HE IS A WALRUS! F HIM! See ya!


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Dudes we are keeping the B717 they are headed out west get on board, your bags fly free. And no flight bag either.

The bags probably won't be free for long after Gary K. sees how much extra it will cost to pay all of the Airtran employees SWA rates. There won't be a B-Scale, that would hurt the "culture." Extra bag revenue really helps the bottom line, and SWA already moved that way (extra fees) by doing the "board first" program for an extra $15 and you also get a free drink? That is called extra revenue---and that is a precedent for them to do it more. You can't disagree with making extra money, and SWA followed other airlines doing just that.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[27 driver]

It was not a theory but just a question. I guess the answer to the question was Yes they can do that. You apparently do not want to face that so you call me stupid. What you should have said was, yes it could happen but you do not think it would. However, as long as it is a possibility I would be concerned if I were an Airtran Pilot.
So, I will ask you again if you have the guts to answer it. Can SWA do that?

Cometman,

I suppose GK could do that but he has publicly stated on a few occasions that the 717's will be part of LUV's future. I believe he is a man of his word. You can be sure that whatever suits the shareholders will be done. The 717's are the bulk of Airtran's fleet and I believe they do well on the revenue side. I think Southwest will find a good fit for those planes. I hope so because it happens to be the plane I am on.

 

[Dash Power]

Am I the only one that think this "Ty Webb" is not going to be happy working for Southwest?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Bob, are you stoned, or just stupid? You're obviously not in touch with reality. :laugh:

You don't "wok" for either airline? Who do you "wok" for? Beni-Hana's?
:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Hahhahahaahaahahahahaha

Hahahahahahahah. I forgot an 'r'. Hahahahah. How funny of you to catch that and make a joke out it. You are clever.

 

[scoreboardII]

Am I the only one that think this "Ty Webb" is not going to be happy working for Southwest?

Oh, he will be, he will be! (in your very best Yoda accent)

There seems to be a sense from the SWA pilot group that something is getting taken away from them... I'm trying to figure out what your precieved loss is.

Excellent question. I'll start: Seniority, tradition, loss of relationship with management.

Seniority. Any "relativee placement" will harm our juniority here at SWA. A larger airline grows slower than a younger one. While a relative placement might be fair, a SWA which grows organically would allow it's pilots to grow and progress quicker (seniority) than aquiring another (relative seniroirty). You might say AT pilots should fear this most as they are coming from a perceived (although extinct) position that growth was in their future. This no longer exists. Do we blame AT pilots? Of course not, but we don't want to suffer this "loss".

Tradition. 30 plus years of pilots have started at the bottom, worked up the rungs, and allowed SWA to be what it is, a success. Nobody has "jumped the rope" and started anywhere but "last" on the list. Nobody. That does a few things to the culture; first, everybody was a "follower" before they led. They learned from the bottom up, that breeds "ownership". The second part of our tradition; you don't want to be the one on the bottom when it fails, so you give it your all. That is our tradition which ends with anything other than staple.

Please explain how the ATL base will be anything other than SWA East forever. I don't mean that as a slam, just a fact that those staying in ATL will never "know" the system of SWA.

Managment relationship. Previously stellar and now defunct? A year ago we had CEO who said he would not commit to buying F9 without an approved employee integration plan. That deal fell through for money reasons, but it was a deal which showed our management would take employee relations to heart during these types of deals.

Flash forward to today, same CEO now states "it is inappropriate for him to comment or interfere with any employee integration issues".

I paraphrased, but you get the idea, so what changed?

I and many others state WTFO? Why was an employee consideration so important last year and now those same considerations are "off limits" and not his problem? More interesting the CEO states "we need to show the servants heart and Golden Rule to those AT employee's as we bring them onboard".

I'm fine with that, but why again should we take a hit in seniority, upgrade, tradition, management relationship? Well, this was or is another loss, not caused by any AT folks, but one we don't want to accept just the same.

There is a middle ground out there, It just might not be right in the middle depending on who you are.

 

[ATLplt]

Am I the only one that think this "Ty Webb" is not going to be happy working for Southwest?

No, I think he, (along with the rest of us), is tired of listening to all the SWA bubbas cry "ME, ME, ME", all day long. You guys should read En Mort Main's posts again for a little dose of reality.

See all you "brothers" on the line.

 

[dicko]

Am I the only one that think this "Ty Webb" is not going to be happy working for Southwest?

I think you may be making some assumptions about us. I think that your quote sums up the inadequacies of the forum as a medium for communicating. I'm not blaming you, but it's a good example. Would you agree that if we were all sitting around talking that we wouldn't communicate this badly ? Myself included.

AirTran has a great pilot group and it's the one constant when I go to work. I feel comfortable when I walk into the cockpit. I think that's remarkable. I think that's probably the case at SWA.

We do not want to take your seniority and we do not want you to take ours. It's quite simple. I hope that SWA pilots don't see the acquisition of AirTran as an opportunity to quickly advance their seniority at our expense.

The American Army in France or the German army in Russia. Pick a style ?