Originally Posted by
ERJ135
Neelmen must be having a cow right
I wonder though if he expected it eventually.
His business plan is wholly dependent on not having to deal with unions, but I doubt he didn't expect this. Most airlines are unionized, so its a distinct possibility B6 could unionize.
Velocipede: I disagree with your analysis of Neeleman. He did'nt bail out of MorrisAir, SWA bought it out from under him when he was President in '93 (He made $25 million from the stock he owned in Morris). He worshiped SWA, and Kelleher, but didn't fit in at SWA, so left to help with WestJet in Calgary (which did not violate his 5-yr no-compete clause with Kelleher) . Then, the very day his no-compete clause expired in February '99, he started up JetBlue. And he's been there 8 years and counting; it is his baby, and I think he is in it for the long run, union or not.
He's also the kind of guy that will not 'declare war on pilot' for deciding to be represented by a union. He'll embrace the challenge, and find a way to make it work.