Originally Posted by
sailingfun
NWA will not make a DOH case. They did not open for DOH in the last SLI negotiations and won't do it with the arbitrator. DOH is not part of ALPA merger policy. Its a bit pointless to argue something the arbitrator can't use hence the reason NWA did not use DOH in the first round. I am sure the thrust of the NWA case will be career expectations via future retirements.
Fair enough, but I was just trying to make the point that if "openers" have some sort of relevance to an arbitrator, such as establishing a "base" from which to negotiate from, then it would seem to be in each pilot groups' interest to start from an "extreme" that favors their respective positions. Also, while alpa merger policy does not include DOH, a careful reading of the Nicalau award indicates DOH was considered, but not necessarily acted upon (judging from the results). (the 500 USair guys at the top were awarded based on equipment brought to the merger)