Airtran gone
- Thread starter Kingairer
- Start date
e6bflyer
Well-Known Member
Yes and yes.
End of an era for sure. A sad moment for a lot of guys who were really part of something over there. I don't really get the sense that either group (now one group) of pilots really wanted this to happen, but that's the airline biz.
I sat on the jumpseat with one of them yesterday. Great dude who just wants to take care of his family no matter who is writing the checks but was sad to see airtran go. We had a lot in common.
End of an era for sure. A sad moment for a lot of guys who were really part of something over there. I don't really get the sense that either group (now one group) of pilots really wanted this to happen, but that's the airline biz.
I sat on the jumpseat with one of them yesterday. Great dude who just wants to take care of his family no matter who is writing the checks but was sad to see airtran go. We had a lot in common.
I believe he was not shy about it so I think I can speak on it......ATN swore he was resigning. The only reason he (stated) stayed on was the delay in training for the 737. He was getting paid, not having to fly, so why resign until he absolutely had to. I believe the quote was, "I will stay (delay training) until I absolutely have to. Was going to just focus on his real estate business....I think he is 'on hiatus' at the current time.....
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
Why? Honest question, which he can prob answer better, but just curious why the name on the outside of the plane has any impact on you flying. Unless there is a drastic decrease in quality of life, huge salary cut, benefits cut or something similar, why leave something you clearly enjoy, and have put a substantial amount of time into, because of a decision by others that's out of your control?
Isn't that the new state of the airline business? Airlines are in one of three phases it seems like, recently acquired(or did the acquiring), in the market to acquire (or be acquired), or in bankruptcy.
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
Don't worry, you'll see them soon enough...It's sad to see them go. Looks like all their 717s are headed west to GYR right now.
And not as beer cans either!
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
Eagle421flyer
Well-Known Member
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
No. AirTran got screwed. Badly.
In a nutshell all the Critter Captains are back in the right seat and Southwest FOs have filled the captain seats of all the 737s AirTran brought to the party.
EDIT to add: however, the guys DID vote it in that way. I think (and a lot of people way smarter than me agree) that what Southwest management was threatening to do if they didn't take the deal, was illegal and wouldn't actually happen, but I completely understand that people didn't want to gamble their careers on that fact.
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PeanuckleCRJ
Poodle Wrangler
Hell if I know. He just made mention that he was done for whatever reason made sense to him. If one decides to quit, might as well hang on until you can.....No sense throwing away money.
USMCmech
Well-Known Member
I'm not speaking for him nor do I even agree with all of his reasons, but here is what he has said in the past.
He (and apparently many others at ATN) feel that they were screwed by the seniority integration.
He would likely have been displaced to the junior base which is Oakland despite living just outside ATL.
Upgrade would be decades in the future.
He has a thriving real estate business that is consuming large amounts of his of time and energy.
He was never a fan of SWA even long before the merger was announced and he would have been a very poor fit in their corporate culture
My opinion only, I think he was burnt out of the airline biz.
So, he was facing a HUGE QOL cut due to being displaced, and the prospect of commuting across the country was not appealing. The time away from his other business would have hurt there as well.
bLizZuE
Calling for engine starts en français
It's sad to see them go. Looks like all their 717s are headed west to GYR right now.
Pretty sure this is a paint shop airport.
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
All makes sense, was just curious. I've seen people quit to "stick it to them", as if anyone isn't replaceable and won't simply show up on an attrition report and go unnoticed.
deadpixel
Well-Known Member
SurferLucas
Southern Gentleman
It was pretty cool that ATL/TPA/airTran all got into the act with the last flight using the original ValuJet callsign, "Critter 1":
Found this today while going through stuff at the parents house...seemed a bit ironic, but this was HUGE for the post-Valujet 592 airTran. I'm going to miss JS'ing on them, they got me from ATL to DEN many many times when I was commuting to PDX, most of the time in Business class. The crews were always willing to go the extra mile for other crew members.
@ATN_Pilot
Found this today while going through stuff at the parents house...seemed a bit ironic, but this was HUGE for the post-Valujet 592 airTran. I'm going to miss JS'ing on them, they got me from ATL to DEN many many times when I was commuting to PDX, most of the time in Business class. The crews were always willing to go the extra mile for other crew members.
@ATN_Pilot