Will The AirTran Pilots' Windfall Be A Consideration?

[Wesb737fo]

One doesn't have you read to far to know this new airline will simply be be called Southwest airlines after the merger. I think the traditional days of Southwest are over sadly.

If, by traditional days, you mean the culture, it will only be over if you let the opinions of the less than 1 percent who post on this board affect you. Most of the people I interact with on the line have been civil and reasonable. This will be ONE great place to work.

 

[shootr]

OK Lear,

The subject at hand is whether or not Ty's insult of a SWA pilot is OK or not. IMHO, due to his arrogant, in-denial, opinionated, non-factual, egotistical, bloviated, grasping-at-straws, supercilious, pompous, and assumptive rants...Ty is an idiot (and not a very nice person). There, I said it.

shootr

 

[Kharma Police]

OK Lear,

The subject at hand is whether or not Ty's insult of a SWA pilot is OK or not. IMHO, due to his arrogant, in-denial, opinionated, non-factual, egotistical, bloviated, grasping-at-straws, supercilious, pompous, and assumptive rants...Ty is an idiot (and not a very nice person). There, I said it.

shootr

Man, dose is sum big words! Dey didn' learn us dose words down in 'da South.

 

[SWA/FO]

Did all the Tranny dudes become Moderators to help supplement their pay?

 

[Lear70]

Did all the Tranny dudes become Moderators to help supplement their pay?

It's a volunteer position other moderators sponsor you for. I supplement my pay doing Chippendale's weekends around the country. It's aviation, we all need a contingency plan...

OK Lear,

The subject at hand is whether or not Ty's insult of a SWA pilot is OK or not. IMHO, due to his arrogant, in-denial, opinionated, non-factual, egotistical, bloviated, grasping-at-straws, supercilious, pompous, and assumptive rants...Ty is an idiot (and not a very nice person). There, I said it.

shootr

Yep, you did, and since it's related to the argument and not a curse word or racist or scab comment, it'll stay.

I personally wouldn't call a Southwest pilot an idiot (although I certainly think the staple crowd is simply barking up the wrong tree and have no problem telling them what I think of their POSITION on the issue). I don't think it's professional to throw names back and forth, especially since I'm a mod.

However, this *IS* Flightinfo, and some people use this as their personal playground to throw flame and heckle people into getting mad and going off. Not to accuse Ty of doing so, but some people throw a lot of mud from behind the cover of anonymity and yeah, it irritates me, as it serves no purpose except to aggravate an already-volatile situation with people we're all going to have to work alongside for years to come.

Just trying to keep things from spinning out of hand between the 2%. As I said before, yes I applied at Southwest some years back because I really enjoy the culture at Southwest and I don't want to see that culture damaged or disappear. Even if it's just 2% that post here and another 10% that read it, if I can help keep it civil, it's worth the effort.

 

[Lonestar]

I don't recall seeing the question previously. There has been so much stuff flying around (pun intended) that I probably missed it.

I don't pretend to know the answer, but I'll take a swag at it . . . My guess is that the answer involves adjustments to address the differences between the carriers. Bases, Fleet, growth, stagnation, reduction, retirement, etc.

Never say never. This industry is still one major event away from disaster, unfortunately.

Ty, you really should hope you're wrong here. Do you want an arbitrator to "address the differences between the carriers"?

Lets see:
Bases: SWA- 8, AT- 1.2(approx 70 pilots in MKE on 09/27)
Fleet: SWA- 540ish, AT- 130ish. Or is it fleet type. SWA- all 737s, AT- mostly 717s
Growth/Stagnation: For your benefit, let's say SWA's short period of stagnation cancels out AT's recent furlough.
Retirement: SWA pilots- nearly 18% in this decade, AT pilots- about 7%
Etc: It goes on and on...

And Ty, you're right. Never say never, and with regard to our industry being one disaster away from...You and every AT pilot will definitely want to be at the airline with tons of cash and dominance (as opposed to a debt-laiden, leased and weaker carrier) if and when this occurs!

 

[Tweet-a-Lishus]

Lonestar your post can't be right, Ty told us this a merger of EQUALS. Forget about SWA paying 1.4 billion in cash and stock and assuming another 1.4 billion in debt, TY said that will not matter. I do think it is Ironic though that every time someone points out the differences TY is always their to say that can't be considered!

 

[Ty Webb]

Ty, you really should hope you're wrong here. Do you want an arbitrator to "address the differences between the carriers"?
I'm fine with that. It is what it is.
Lets see:
Bases: SWA- 8, AT- 3(approx 70 pilots in MKE on 09/27, MCO Base for 717 & 737)
Fleet: SWA- 540ish, AT- 140 + 50 for fleet expansion. Or is it fleet type. SWA- all 737s, AT- 85/55 now, will be 85/105
Growth/Stagnation: For your benefit, let's say SWA's short period of stagnation cancels out AT's 3 month furlough. Well, if you want to go there, with the 50 ordered aircraft, will be growing by 35%, while SWA stays flat and replaces older aircraft
Retirement: SWA pilots- nearly 18% in this decade, AT pilots- about 7%
Etc: It goes on and on...

And Ty, you're right. Never say never, and with regard to our industry being one disaster away from...You and every AT pilot will definitely want to be at the airline with tons of cash and dominance (as opposed to a debt-laiden, leased and weaker carrier) if and when this occurs!

It's too bad the first thread about this merger is gone, because there was a very insightful post by FDJ2, a Delta pilot without a dog in this fight. In the eyes of an Arbitrator, SWA and AAI are more similar than you think. We are both profitable LCC's that operate SNB aircraft in a mostly domestic (or domestic only) operation. SWA is the more established, more stable company with stagnant growth, AirTran has firm orders that will expand the fleet by an additional 32% over the next 5 years. SWA pays more, but AAI is only 16 years along.

What will the outcome be? Who knows?

One thing is for certain, though. The more heat and hyperbole surrounding the SLI issue, the more disappointment and resentment is likely to follow.

 

[S3sundowner]

Guys, why do you sit on here trying to trade with Ty? Why not let the process dictate, and when it's all said and done, we can come back on here and see what he's got to say. Whichever way this goes, he wins because he's a tranny. Now, please join me in refusing to get baited by Ty's version of what is just.

 

[S3sundowner]

My buddy over at swa just came back from training. He said management in dallas expressed increasing concerns over the rifts developing already in the labor groups. Ty needs to be careful.