W/regards to SLI, I think many, on both sides, just can't buy into arguments made by the other side ... that's natural. But at some point in time, the SLI will probably happen (still a chance this thing could turn into AW/US) and each and everyone of us will have to deal with that reality ... we all can pontificate on what the events of the past have rought, but nobody can tell us what the furture of L-CAL and L-UAL would have been with certainty ... so believe what you want to believe about that future, but make no mistake, you will be sleeping in the bed you made, I mean with the choice of which airline you worked for pre merger announcement.

The SLI may go to arbitration ... many a strange things have happened since the merger dancing began, and I would not rule out at least a partilly negotiated SLI ... but yes, most likely, a 3 person arbitration panel will determine our collective SL. They will consider what is the most "fair" integration, taking into account longevity, career expectations, and seat/category, with no particular weight given to any. Each side will argue so as to gain the most for thier side, as they should.

In the end, the arbitrators will probably use past precedent to guide their decision. Past precedent was guided by a "no windfall" principle in ALPA merger policy ... it's not there any more, just the word "fair" ... and the longevity consideration is also new. For these reasons, I think we will not see a "relative senority" outcome i.e. Delta/NWA ... I also can't see how a strict DOH would be deemed fair .... maybe relative seniority with a "slide" for "active" in-service time perhaps, some sort of fencing for the widebody "disparities", and we will call it even for career expectations. Or of course, they will just do what ever they want, because they can, and nobody, I mean nobody, will be happy.

Can someone in the L-UAL "DOH" camp give some data on the 1450(ish)'s DOH service time versus "active" service time??