Originally Posted by
RJtrashPilot
IF (and that's a big IF) a DL/AA deal goes through and the resulting capacity pull down results in massive furloughs, the long-storied and mythical "US airline pilot shortage" will be dodged yet again.
You could be right.
Or, if we go glass half-full, The new company and the pilots could negotiate a no-furlough clause that protects those that are actively flying right now (written on TeePee, of course)...the resulting merged company would certainly be very profitable...similar to the Delta / NWA merger JCBA that Delta pilots are currently working under. With the DAL NWA merger, we sorted out seniority via arbitration and got a relative seniority type agreement (with a pull out plug in and some short duration fences), and the NWA pilots got a pay raise in the form of increased hourly rates and furloughed guys had seniority longevity restored (some NWA reserve pilots lost money)...
My point being that it wouldn't necessarily be a disaster for everyone.
I'm around 10,000 at DAL and I have suffered a lot due to being bumped down in ATL by NWA guys that have moved into my domicile and equipment, so it has probably cost me $50,000 already, plus a lifestyle hit (reserve vs. line-holder on the 767) but this hit will reverse as I age and I will enjoy a better seniority percentage than I would have without the merger because I will benefit from the NWA retirements (I was pre-merger DAL)- I would rather take the hit now as a young co-pilot and make it up in 10 years as a Senior Captain.
It probably wont happen anyway, but the speculation is always fun, and I *may* sleep better at night knowing what the numbers would look like if it does happen, but I guess no American guys want to share the numbers as I have done. (See my post number 22).