Originally Posted by Widow's Son
I don't think it is going to happen as advertised. No matter which way it shakes out, there is no conceivable way to integrate the employee groups, especially the pilots. Instead of posting a combined route map, post a combined seniority list and then watch the fireworks begin. ALPA can't very well stand by and do nothing, but at the same time whatever they do is going to infuriate a large constituency. ALPA may end up tubing this deal to try and keep itself from ripping apart.
Call me an optimist, but I think a seniority merger will happen without too many fireworks.
Just look back a few years when UAL and USAirways were working on a merger agreement. The seniority issue wasn't a far cry from what it is today- lots of older guys at U, lots of recent newhires at UAL- yet nobody was saying the deal would be derailed because of labor.
In the end USAir pilots want a company that will exit Chapter 11 successfully (remember, the odds were 50/50 they would even be around today), and the AWA pilots want a shot at tremendous growth (as in a massive wave of retiring pilots at USAirways the coming 7 years) and becoming finally a true international airline.