Originally Posted by
Pilotbiffster
The error in your logic is you fail to understand the term expectations. Expectations implies the future, from merger date until the year you turn age 65. Based soley on retirements, over half of those United furloughees had the career EXPECTATION of being recalled and flying from the left seat of a widebody. Since Continental hardly has ANY widebodies, very few of their pilots their can expect to actually fly them from the left seat. So, to answer your question, yes, the pilots on furlough in 2010 at the time of the merger had very robust career EXPECTATIONS.
What was interesting was something in the UAL opening brief....
"The effect of this merger, no matter how the seniority lists are integrated, is to improve dramatically Continental pilots’ career expectations with regard to jumbo and widebody flying and, correspondingly, to reduce those of United pilots."
So basically what they are saying is that no matter where the CAL pilots are placed they are going to do better because they have access to the 100+ widebody aircraft they didn't have access to as well as the 78 Jumbo aircraft they didn't have access to.
So, yes, a furloughed pilot (who is being recalled right now and would have NEVER been recalled if not for "right-sizing" for the merger) has a robust career expectation.