SMART

[bLizZuE]

“Today, APA President CA Ed Sicher announced the formation of the Seniority Merger and Retirement Transition (SMART) Ad Hoc Committee.

This committee’s PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY is to investigate the potential MERGER AND ABSORPTION of the WHOLLY OWNED REGIONAL CARRIERS onto the American Airlines pilots’ seniority list, and potential avenues for securing the most favorable treatment for our mainline pilots currently on the list.”

 

[ClearedForOption]

The first thing to ask is how many hours/ how much flight pay loss was spent running that name through the RAAG. (Random Aviation Acronym Generator)

Especially since the authorized bargaining agents for mAAinline have nothing to do with that outside of what’s specified in their working agreement. And incidentally many, if not all, of the ‘wholly owned’ carriers have a completely different bargaining agent.

But, hey, form a committee.

 

[Minuteman]

the authorized bargaining agents for mAAinline have nothing to do with that outside of what’s specified in their working agreement

That's just Straightforward Union Charter Knowledge for Maintaining Your Bargaining Agents' Limitations and not Loosening Scope.

 

[trafficinsight]

Bravo

 

[Screaming_Emu]

Not surprised. If you can’t pin one regional against another it’s not cost effective to have regionals.

 

[FlyinSol0]

Not surprised. If you can’t pin one regional against another it’s not cost effective to have regionals.

I don’t think there’s anything to this committee, just FUD from Sicher.

I’ll say though, there’s a lot more than just pilots that make a regional. I assume all the mechanics, flight attendants, dispatchers, gate agents, and rampers make less money than mainline.

 

[alaskadrifter]

There’s no way this is a distraction for an ALPA drive right??

 

[bimmerphile]

‘seniority merger’ doesn't make sense, I think ‘seniority homeostasis’ is more germane to APA’s goals

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Way back when RJs first became a thing (thanks Comair), we always said “you can fly any airplane you want as long as it’s flown by mainline pilots on the mainline seniority list.” That platform is not cost effective without flying it for cheap on the backs of labor.

But APA saying they want to merge with the wholly ownds is like me saying to my wife “Honey! Tonight you and I are doing the nasty and you’re gonna do that thing I like!”

Ain’t gonna happen unless she’s drunk and it’s 20 years ago.

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

Way back when RJs first became a thing (thanks Comair), we always said “you can fly any airplane you want as long as it’s flown by mainline pilots on the mainline seniority list.” That platform is not cost effective without flying it for cheap on the backs of labor.

But APA saying they want to merge with the wholly ownds is like me saying to my wife “Honey! Tonight you and I are doing the nasty and you’re gonna do that thing I like!”

Ain’t gonna happen unless she’s drunk and it’s 20 years ago.

This isn't 1998, times have changed. There are wholly owned check airman making $400+/hr. It would actually be cheaper to bring them to mainline. There is a huge squeeze on RJ captains at the moment. It isn't APA saying they want to merge, I think they just see the writing on the wall and want to get out in front of it. The regional model in its current form is unsustainable, but AA needs the feed for now, so it makes sense for AA to bring it in house and wind down the RJs at some point.

Personally, I am glad APA is doing this. You don't want to get caught by surprise in this situation. Anything but a staple is unacceptable to me.

 

[scooter2525]

Does AA still operate RJs?

 

[CFIT99]

Just a scare tactic because of the ALPA card drive, there’s already agreements in place about how an integration would work via a staple.

APA is threatening that a change to ALPA would insure they have to use ALPA merger language and use “career expectations/DOH” vs the already agreed upon staple.

You are not going to have a junior pilot at Envoy go above a WO flow because they chose to flow instead of bypass. OR a 20 year Envoy CA hopping into a NB CA or WB FO slot….this place would burn to the ground

 

[FlyinSol0]

Does AA still operate RJs?

Nah they retired the Super 80 in 2019, E190 in 2020

 

[ERfly]

Does AA still operate RJs?

They just look like 737s. Can't even tell the difference!

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

Somewhere in the woods, dacuj is having a great campfire.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/american-airlines-pilots-union-to-examine-regional-aviators-seniority-memo

 

[poser765]

Somewhere in the woods, dacuj is having a great campfire.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/american-airlines-pilots-union-to-examine-regional-aviators-seniority-memo

Campfire in the woods while cosplaying an infantry mind from the 70s? Just out their campaigning for hearts and minds.

 

[Avalon781ML]

Does AA still operate RJs?

Apparently you can’t tell them apart anymore… got the same NN tail numbers and everything!

Only the best pilots at American and American Junior… no idea about Americans stepchildren…

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Remember that prior to about 1996 the regionals didn’t fly anything bigger than 37 seat Dash-8s. There were hundreds of J31s, Metros, 1900s, Shorts 330/360, Saab 340, Dash 8s, and Brasillias. But everything bigger than that was flown by mainline - and certainly every jet. (Yes, I know that United Feeder Service flew the ATP which was a big airplane, and Air Wisconsin had the BAE146 for a while, but stay with me here)

The Fokker 28 at 65 seats? Mainline
The Fokker 100 at 85 seats? Mainline
The Bac 1-11 at 85 seats? Mainline
The DC9-10 at 85 seats? Mainline
The DC9-30 at 100 seats? Mainline
The 737-200 at 100 seats? Mainline
The RJ85..
etc…

All mainline airplanes, flown by mainline pilots, with mainline compensation, work rules, benefits, and retirement.

Imagine if we had never scoped out RJs how many MORE mainline jobs there would be… how many of those pilots who were furloughed twice during the lost decade might have been furloughed once or not at all.

Mainline will be just fine if they absorb the RJ flying again. And if we are smart, we will acknowledge the fantastic opportunity we just had to put the toothpaste back in the tube and NEVER let small jet flying our of our scope again at ANY price.

 

[Kingairer]

Remember that prior to about 1996 the regionals didn’t fly anything bigger than 37 seat Dash-8s. There were hundreds of J31s, Metros, 1900s, Shorts 330/360, Saab 340, Dash 8s, and Brasillias. But everything bigger than that was flown by mainline - and certainly every jet. (Yes, I know that United Feeder Service flew the ATP which was a big airplane, and Air Wisconsin had the BAE146 for a while, but stay with me here)

The Fokker 28 at 65 seats? Mainline
The Fokker 100 at 85 seats? Mainline
The Bac 1-11 at 85 seats? Mainline
The DC9-10 at 85 seats? Mainline
The DC9-30 at 100 seats? Mainline
The 737-200 at 100 seats? Mainline
The RJ85..
etc…

All mainline airplanes, flown by mainline pilots, with mainline compensation, work rules, benefits, and retirement.

Imagine if we had never scoped out RJs how many MORE mainline jobs there would be… how many of those pilots who were furloughed twice during the lost decade might have been furloughed once or not at all.

Mainline will be just fine if they absorb the RJ flying again. And if we are smart, we will acknowledge the fantastic opportunity we just had to put the toothpaste back in the tube and NEVER let small jet flying our of our scope again at ANY price.

The larger question in this circumstance is, if they are going to move Large RJs to mainline, HOW? Theres a clean way and a messy way, so naturally AA is probably going to go for the messy way.

 

[trafficinsight]

In other news, I'm forming a committe to explore the viability of taking all of Elon Musks money and giving it to me!