Ya know.. I know you hate all things ALPA, and far be it for me to try and defend it, but this is clearly an apples to bowling balls comparison. Their scope clause was negotiated.. rather... handed down, when they were a small Texas airline with little outside exposure and little prospect at the time for growing beyond what they were. *Poof*.. deregulation happened, and all of a sudden they were on a bigger stage. For years and years, Herb held true to the model that he developed and it served the airline well. They grew and grew and were able to do so within the boundaries set by that scope clause. Good for them. Had nothing to do with SWAPA being a great negotiator or any of the credit like that that you are so fond of giving credit for, but don't let that get in your way. Now they are on a much bigger stage, and we will see how well that scope clause serves them going forward. GK has put a dent in that vaunted culture that they are so proud of, and my bet is that going forward that if SWA wants to continue the high rate of growth to which they (and not inconsequentially Wall Street), had become accustomed, they are going to have to start looking outside the capabilities of 737s. OR.... joint ventures/code shares, etc... In other words.. they have reached critical mass. Let's see if their management puts that scope clause on the table in their next negotiations, or if SWAPA is willing to accept mediocre growth for their membership.. But let's turn this into a discussion of how incompetent ALPA is....

/no sarcasm necessary