Here's why I said he has blind trust in management... This is what i picked up from the letter. Correct me if I'm wrong, please:
-AAG management is guaranteeing the airframes for the life of the contract correct?
-AAG is guaranteeing 30 flows indefinitely.
-AAG says nobody will hit the 4/12 year max pay rates because everybody will flow and AE will have all these airplanes and pilots will live happily ever after.
Tell me where I misread any of what was in the letter.
Having said all that, isn't AAG currently trying to break a concessionary contract arrived at in bankruptcy? Hasn't management already broke many flow through agreements, specifically at AE, in the past? How is AAG going to keep a flow going if they can't staff AE? From what I've read, most of the regionals are having staffing problems already. What is the first thing that will go when they have staffing problems? Flow. Cut flow and you have stagnation, and topped out pilots. At least you have a job though, right?
I have no dog in the fight, other than a former life, and the career in general. I was giving an outside perspective. Nothing more, nothing less.
For a little background on me, I was an intern in 1993 at AMR. My mom is a retired flight attendant at AA. My dream was to fly for AA since I was a kid. I have watched for years the actions of AMR and the actions of the Ivory Towers. I watched what happened to the TWA guys and gals and that is where I finally decided 121 was probably not in the cards for me.
For those involved, if you think nobody else is paying attention, you are wrong. Even Eagle's struggles eventually affect all of us. I do wish you all the best in a very difficult and personal struggle for each and every one of you. For the last time, I was merely pointing out to an outsider how the letter reads.
With that, I'm done with this thread. Sorry for all the typos. I'm on the phone and heading out the door.
With respect, I've never liked the use of the phrase "blind trust in management". It is an ad hominem attack which implies that anyone who has an opinion which coincides with management in any way is either conspiring with them or completely delusional. I would prefer that we base our arguments on the evidence at hand.
First, is AAG guaranteeing the airframes for the life of the contract? Here is the final language:
"AAG shall place no less than sixty (60) EMB-175 jet aircraft on the Eagle operating certificate beginning on _____, and those aircraft shall remain on the Eagle operating certificate until at least the amendable date of the Eagle ALPA Collective Bargaining Agreement."
"AAG will maintain no less than one-hundred seventy (170) aircraft, inclusive of EMB-175 aircraft referenced in this letter, on the Eagle operating certificate until at least the amendable date of the Eagle ALPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. This provision will not apply in circumstances where the AAG's non-compliance is caused in substantial part by Conditions Beyond AAG's Control."
Next, is AAG guaranteeing 30 flows indefinitely?
"The company will take any and all actions necessary to satisfy the flow through requirements under this letter including, but not limited to, reductions in scheduled block hours as necessary to accommodate the required outflow of pilots to American Airlines."
Finally, does AAG say that no one will hit the 4/12 year caps under the agreement? Yes, they have made that clear, but the union also ran its own projections and found that, if the flow works according the the contract, that this statement is also true.
Next, let me try to answer some of your other questions.
Isn't AAG currently trying to break a concessionary contract arrived at in bankruptcy?
I think you may be slightly misinformed here. There are a few items going through arbitration right now, and the one that comes to mind is the company's ability to turn back reserves more than once. These are serious issues, but to say that AAG is attempting to break the concessionary contract is both misleading and an exaggeration.
Hasn't management already broke many flow through agreements, specifically at AE, in the past?
To my knowledge there has only been one flow through agreement (though it has been modified through arbitration). To say that the flow through agreement was broken is something of an exaggeration. The original flow agreement was not very well written and gave the company loopholes that they could exploit. The current language really doesn't provide that kind of wiggle room. The most controversial part of the flow through agreement has to do with American placing TWA pilots ahead of AE pilots with higher seniority numbers after it bought out TWA. This went through arbitration and resulted in the 824 agreement. The death blow to the flow through came not from the company ignoring contractual language, but from 9/11.
How is AAG going to keep a flow going if they can't staff AE?
An excellent question, but the answer to this is twofold:
1. If the TA passes, AE will almost certainly attract and retain more pilots. Pilots are leaving AE and not coming here in the first place due to the lack of security and certainty here. The TA would solve that problem by creating a stable airline to weather the next few years until moving to a major. Pilots coming into the regional industry are (for the most part) not interested in making a career at a regional airline, but see the regional industry as a stepping stone to get to a major airline. If AE ties up most (or even just half) of the hiring at American (now the world's largest major airline), AE will become a very attractive prospect for many regional airline pilots.
2. Given the commitment to the flow through as well as the commitment of billions of dollars worth of aircraft to AE, if the flow through proves to be insufficient to attract new hires to staff AE, and regional pilots are instead choosing to go to a regional carrier with better pay, management would almost certainly seek to raise pilot pay to attract the pilots it needs.
For the sake of argument, let's assume that things go as you say. The TA is ratified, but AE is unable to staff their airline. AAG, seeing that AE is unable to staff, immediately stops all flow through and begins diverting delivery of its EMB-175s to another airline. AE ALPA and pilots would immediately cry fowl and the process would move to arbitration. Though the process could take some time, AAG would lose and be forced to continue the flow, return the airplanes, and make reparations for what the pilot group lost. Tremendous amounts of money would be lost. Wouldn't it make more sense that they would simply follow the contract?
