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HalinTexas · 07-02-2009, 10:28 AM

I was going to post a long diatribe about this, but I have no dog in this fight.

Just a few things.

As labor, remember that you're not ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your airline. You may contribute to it, but can't be blamed for it's failures and you can't take all the credit for the successes.

Remember history. Remember when Matlin-Patterson bought ATA in late 2005. They were supposed to be the second savior behind SWA. They then created "New ATA Holdings, inc." We tootled along with no business plan. Late 2006 we bought "new" DC10's from NWA. Big mistake. Real dogs. New (recycled) CEO in Mr. Karnik appeared. Dennison (ex-SWA CFO) appointed him, but remained on the BOD. In April, M-P changed the name from New ATA, to GAL (Global Aero Logistics) and bought World Holdings, Inc, which owned World and N. American. Here's where we went inverted.

I immediately chimed up to everyone that listened, and I wasn't alone, that we needed to integrate the lists, NOW. No one listened. One of the three airlines was going to get screwed royally. No one listened. I thought it would be NA since they had no contract, and were only really getting what World through their way. The existing agreement could not be sustained as ATA and World/NA were on opposing CRAF/Military charter teams. ATA with FedEx and World/NA with UPS. No one listened. Labor had no say, and we didn't hear that FedEx was a little PO'd about it. Of the 9 DC10's we were supposed to get, only four came on line. (What pigs.) Four different paint jobs held together with DMI stickers. Two went to World, and I still don't know what happened to the rest. The three groups wanted to stay separate. (While inverted, don't pull on the yoke!) A really lame agreement was made that the groups would "work together toward a common goal." Remember, ATA was ALPA and World/NA were separate IBT groups.

MP/GAL allowed ATA to crash and burn with incompetent management. The pilot group believed all kinds of things were going to happen, about half of them good. We were never informed of what MP's plans were. We surrendered any power we were going to have by not unifying with IBT to form one list. It is the belief of most of the pilots at ATA that SWA used ATA to keep Airtran or America West out of MDW. They had no real interest in anything other than that. It is also believed that MP used ATA to gain a larger foothold on the military and international charter and cargo markets. We were a sacrificial lamb for Market Share. Our union leadership was told by the "General" that was on the World BOD that Herb Kelleher was instrumental in sealing the deal. In the end, SWA didn't care. They made lots of money on the deal, and gained lots market share in MDW and Florida. Very shrewd indeed. GAL with SWA help, and some ATA "collateral" entered into a larger share of the N. American airline market. (Remember, they owned a controlling interest in Varig already.)

My advice is to get one list worked out and fast. Don't let the "new" management whipsaw you and sacrifice one of you for future growth. Integrate with seat protection and iron out the details later. Don't drag it out or one of you will get screwed.

So much for being short and to the point.

07-02-2009, 10:28 AM	#32 (permalink)
HalinTexas Fly nekkid! Joined APC: Feb 2005 Position: Unemployed again. Posts: 197	I was going to post a long diatribe about this, but I have no dog in this fight. Just a few things. As labor, remember that you're not ultimately responsible for the success or failure of your airline. You may contribute to it, but can't be blamed for it's failures and you can't take all the credit for the successes. Remember history. Remember when Matlin-Patterson bought ATA in late 2005. They were supposed to be the second savior behind SWA. They then created "New ATA Holdings, inc." We tootled along with no business plan. Late 2006 we bought "new" DC10's from NWA. Big mistake. Real dogs. New (recycled) CEO in Mr. Karnik appeared. Dennison (ex-SWA CFO) appointed him, but remained on the BOD. In April, M-P changed the name from New ATA, to GAL (Global Aero Logistics) and bought World Holdings, Inc, which owned World and N. American. Here's where we went inverted. I immediately chimed up to everyone that listened, and I wasn't alone, that we needed to integrate the lists, NOW. No one listened. One of the three airlines was going to get screwed royally. No one listened. I thought it would be NA since they had no contract, and were only really getting what World through their way. The existing agreement could not be sustained as ATA and World/NA were on opposing CRAF/Military charter teams. ATA with FedEx and World/NA with UPS. No one listened. Labor had no say, and we didn't hear that FedEx was a little PO'd about it. Of the 9 DC10's we were supposed to get, only four came on line. (What pigs.) Four different paint jobs held together with DMI stickers. Two went to World, and I still don't know what happened to the rest. The three groups wanted to stay separate. (While inverted, don't pull on the yoke!) A really lame agreement was made that the groups would "work together toward a common goal." Remember, ATA was ALPA and World/NA were separate IBT groups. MP/GAL allowed ATA to crash and burn with incompetent management. The pilot group believed all kinds of things were going to happen, about half of them good. We were never informed of what MP's plans were. We surrendered any power we were going to have by not unifying with IBT to form one list. It is the belief of most of the pilots at ATA that SWA used ATA to keep Airtran or America West out of MDW. They had no real interest in anything other than that. It is also believed that MP used ATA to gain a larger foothold on the military and international charter and cargo markets. We were a sacrificial lamb for Market Share. Our union leadership was told by the "General" that was on the World BOD that Herb Kelleher was instrumental in sealing the deal. In the end, SWA didn't care. They made lots of money on the deal, and gained lots market share in MDW and Florida. Very shrewd indeed. GAL with SWA help, and some ATA "collateral" entered into a larger share of the N. American airline market. (Remember, they owned a controlling interest in Varig already.) My advice is to get one list worked out and fast. Don't let the "new" management whipsaw you and sacrifice one of you for future growth. Integrate with seat protection and iron out the details later. Don't drag it out or one of you will get screwed. So much for being short and to the point. __________________ Ex: Ah.... whatever. :( Every day away leads me further away.