SWA and Airtran negotiations breaking down?

Jamesrw2002

Jamesrw2002

Well-Known Member
... Seems to be a lot of panic coming from a few friends of mine from Airtran. Anyone know what's going on with the dream merger?
 
Seems like issues with the two seniority lists. SWALPA apparently isn't budging on them going to the bottom. Harsh.
 
pullup said:
Why would they ever go on the bottom??
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Because anything else would mean the SWA pilots would have to take concessions I imagine. I mean imagine being #80 in line for upgrade and then being #160 after integration. They all agreed on acquiring Airtran so they should be alright with 1 for 1 integration but it doesn't appear as if they are now. I don't know if I have the right idea here- I'm new to all of this and just an outsider looking in.
 
How does a staple job get treated as far as pay goes? Do all AirTran pilots go to year-one pay, or do they in fact get credit for years of service (for payroll expense) but just not seniority? If everyone at AT goes to year one pay I would think that's a huge win for SWA but I'm not sure how a staple works as far as payroll goes.

Also interesting will be seeing how the in-house union does against ALPA and who will win.
 
WacoFan said:
Also interesting will be seeing how the in-house union does against ALPA and who will win.
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Well SWA is in the driver's seat, as the purchasing carrier as well as vastly outnumbering the Citrus pilots. That being said, it's not in SW's best interest to create a hostile environment for them, and I don't think that's what they're aiming for. The PC answer is "both will win."

It won't be a staple job.....My buddy, a new hire at SWA has no expectation of being ahead of a 12 yr Citrus guy.
 
Wait, I can do this formula. "When were you hired? Ok, great. When were you hired? Great! So we have an understanding?" Ultimate sarcasm inserted here. :beer:
 
I wonder if Frontier pilots would currently salivate for the bottom of the SWA seniority list with their hindsight.
 
A deal was reached late this afternoon. Final language has to be worked out over the next week or two, then a vote by the SWAPA BOD and ATN MEC. If they both approve it, it goes out to a membership vote at both airlines.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
A deal was reached late this afternoon. Final language has to be worked out over the next week or two, then a vote by the SWAPA BOD and ATN MEC. If they both approve it, it goes out to a membership vote at both airlines.
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Agreement between the MECs?
 
I was hoping for a pure staple job just for the entertainment and educational value. It has been boring since the whole USAPA/West saga - I loved those threads - and was hoping for another melodrama on that scale with the addition of a bitter group of pilots destroying the SWA employee/customer service culture, fistfights among employees, death threats, and the ability to see how SWA would respond to some real adversity - they've been remarkably lucky and I'd like to see them fight through adversity - which I'm not sure they've really done since their founding. Further, the subplots - like ATN_Pilot being able to reinforce some of the harsh criticism he once heaped on SWAPA and SWA in general would have been fun to read. While this may be good for the ATN pilots, and the airline as a whole, I feel cheated out of an epic soap opera. It would have been fun.
 
Jamesrw2002 said:
Because anything else would mean the SWA pilots would have to take concessions I imagine. I mean imagine being #80 in line for upgrade and then being #160 after integration. They all agreed on acquiring Airtran so they should be alright with 1 for 1 integration but it doesn't appear as if they are now. I don't know if I have the right idea here- I'm new to all of this and just an outsider looking in.
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How about being a 13 year Airtran captain and ending up being an FO again?
 
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