Originally Posted by
What
AMR hasn't unveiled their so called "plan", they have shared bits and pieces of what AA will look moving forward, I can't find the fact quote but even Horton stated it on a Jetwire a few weeks back.
Yes, it seems they expect complete trust from pilots and other employees and the benefit of the doubt from analysts with a "secret plan". GMAFB. I don't think anyone (and certainly not AA pilots) should base ANYTHING on murky, smoky plans and promises, especially from this source with its history. What we should do is use the past as a litmus in performance and integrity (AKA trust). Looking at U's management, there are definately trust issues, but at least performance can be quantified in the positive. The negative trust issues regarding U for AA pilots compared to those with the secret plan isn't even close.
Originally Posted by
What
The other thing is that the pieces they have put out there can also be adjusted, look at the pensions- first they were going to be terminated and now they will be frozen, next was the early out first they said no and now my understanding is the agreement with the TWU has some type of early out in place.
AMR would like to terminate the pensions still, the only reason they have been forced into the frozen option is that the PBGC used something called "leverage" to persuade AMR away from burdening the PBGC with that termination. Putting leins on South American assets tends to get ones attention......and force one to bargain. I would caution anyone about drawing too much from changing statements about the future. The only thing one could draw on is past practice and current evasiveness. That combination should tell most what they need to know for now.
Originally Posted by
What
Truth is, we don't know what the outcome will be, remember on Nov 2011 when AA management offered all airplanes over 50 seats to AA pilots, we know there were devils in the details, but they saw no need in outsourcing larger RJ that the flying should be done with smaller narrow bodies.
No, no one can be certain of the final outcome. However, to say they saw no need to outsource is incorrect. That "offer" had a steep price and the price for that was AA pilots not only flying those aircraft, but flying the majority of the rest of the domestic fleet for peanuts competitively (aircraft under 125 seats, i.e., A319's). In effect, AA pilots would BECOME the "regional pilots" themselves having given away almost everything to be the future RJ pilots (even if they weren't flying an RJ). That's a moot point anyway as AMR was already well into their BK filing planning (it would occur just 2 weeks later) and had no intention of honoring that CP in the 1113 process.
It's clear now what they really want and aside from giving Brundage back the keys to the blood-smeared labor steamroller, they hired Frank Lorenzo's lawyer to make sure we got the full message. Message received and understood.
Originally Posted by
What
Right now we don't know what's happening behind those closed doors but one thing is certain, if the APA says we are making progress history tells us that management has likely changed the terms, but again SCOPE will be the deciding factor. As far as Wall street, they want consolidation and less competition, they don't like the current plan that AA has brought to the table but the plan is likely to change as we get closer to contract issues being ratified. US Airways wants this merger to happens because if not they know they will be in a works of trouble.
No, we don't know what may be happening behind closed doors. As for statements of "progress", that could just as easily be minor issues and major ones (like scope) go unresolved. I would take that statement with neither optimism nor pessimism at this point. Wall street wants maximum payoff for minimum risk and investment. The creditors right now are willing to let the "process" continue in current format, but know that the maximum value (both initially and over time) is a strong competitive network for AA (actually One World) and that is why U is the best option. Agreed that Parker NEEDS not only a merger, but one specifically with AA. It's the only one that makes his current operation viable in the long-term and it's also the best option to break his major log jam of operating essentially two seperate carriers due to the pilot seniority squabble. That has now become more of a burden then a benefit and will get increasingly worse over time.