USAir "East" Versus USAir "West"
- Thread starter derg
- Start date
Ok, forgive me if I sound ignorant, but why wouldn't just simply merging the seniority lists by date of hire be equitable? Or perhaps merging them with a small offset, like a USAir pilot would be 2 years junior to an Am West pilot that had the same date of hire.
Am I missing something?
Velocipede
New Member
Of course it would be. But then ALL the USair pilots would be significantly senior to AWA pilots. Then you start talking about who gets the Captain seats. USAir has guys on furlough with more seniority than AWA pilots. Do they come back in the left seat?
Bottom line is that pilots are greedy bastiges. They think the have a "right" to the upgrade they anticipated when they were hired. They think they have the "right" to their widebody flying if the merged airline doesn't fly them.
Here's an example. A rumor has recently surfaced that Delta is considering acquiring or merging with Alaska. Since the pilot groups are pretty equal in seniority (both carriers have been in business over 70 years), the big hitch will be the Delta International and widebody flying. I GUARANTEE you the DAL pilots will attempt to prevent the Alaska pilots from bidding widebody flying using the "career expectations" argument. In other words, Alaska doesn't fly international or widebodies, so the Alaska pilots had no expectations of getting that kind of flying in their career.
The only thing that will EVER cure the "merger blues" is a National Seniority List. The day you get hired at your first ALPA carrier becomes your National date of hire. Then, any subsequent merger/buyout would use that date to merge the lists. And the rest of the Merger/Fragmentation policy would just go away. All that "career expectations", "windfall gains" stuff would become moot points.
ZapBrannigan
If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
It is currently in the best interest of USAir "East" pilots to NOT achieve a combined contract, and to continue running the airlines seperately for as long as possible. Over the next 7.5 years almost 50% of the East pilots will retire. If that can somehow occur prior to integration, then the attrition can be captured by junior (less than 20 years of seniority?) East pilots and furloughees.
If they integrate prior, then the West pilots will reap the benefits of those retirements.
Of course, all of this is predicated upon the arbitrator's decision sticking...and retirement not being extended to age 65.
It's a mess.
If they integrate prior, then the West pilots will reap the benefits of those retirements.
Of course, all of this is predicated upon the arbitrator's decision sticking...and retirement not being extended to age 65.
It's a mess.
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
Okay, I know that Delta is trying hard to expand route wise and that the big thinks in HQ are trying to grow the airline.
I could possibly see why DL would want Alaska. As Alaska bases could be a good launching point for service into Asia. Not saying that I believe it, or that I'm getting my hopes up. But if it later comes to fruition, I could see the thinking behind said decsion.
Center_Mid
Well-Known Member
Man, that would be too bad. Alaska is in pretty good shape financially. They seem slightly more like a Southwest than a legacy in terms of expansion discipline and efficiency (especially when they unload the last of their MD-80s and go all-737). They own KSEA and a decent chunk of the west coast. A merger with Delta would really upset Alaska's apple cart and reconfigure service throughout the entire west. Not to mention it would probably wreck Horizon.
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
:yeahthat:
Maximilian_Jenius
Super User
Hey, thanks for confirming that. I always heard that it was a possibility and heard whispers, much akin to the JTBLU and Alaska rumors.
But I never officially heard or was able to confirm that the two companies were in actual talks at one point!
