I have read the Nic and found it neither eloquent nor reasonable (as someone posted earlier). The decision was unarguably and so far inexplicably, made devoid of many relevant facts. I hate that once again I have not resisted the temptation to spend any more valuable time on this post but apparently there are people who are genuinely trying to understand what happened. First understand that nothing happens in a vacuum and also know that this cannot be resolved outside of the legal system. The situation was that USAirways pilots had given up their retirement and had agreed to the most concessionary contract in the industry. They had done so because they believed that this would allow the company to live to see another day- not only saving the company but also their seniority. Many of the America West pilots saw it not as a merger but an acquisition. They argued that America West had saved USAirways. USAirways pilots believed that they had saved the company and that this was a merger that their sacrifices had facilitated. Let me just say here that I will not argue the virtues of these positions- I am merely explaining the mindset of the pilots and the landscape of the merger because you seem genuinely interested. I have lost tens of thousands of dollars because of this and I was one of the few, senior enough that the Nic damage would have been minimal. However I have supported USAPA throughout this process and still do. My reasons were: First the Nic was far too egregious to accept (see earlier post). Second, I believe that ALPA did not protect its members and does not serve as a union. It is rather a conglomeration of individual pilot groups that may or may not compete with one another, thus it is ineffective. I believed then and now that until pilots realize that it is all of us against management we will be at a disadvantage. We have chosen a profession that necessitates a DOH seniority system within airlines. Imagine this bunch if they could get promoted within a company by any means other than DOH. We have demonstrated over and over that we would eat our own young if it were sitting in a left seat on a wide body that we next in line for. As a group, historically a pilot’s demise (i.e. just bad luck or a bad decision on the part of that pilot’s management) has meant either survival or a bigger piece of the pie for the rest of the pilots. Management has known this and has used this, the RLA and bankruptcy laws to completely redefine our profession. So I took a stand. It defied all rational choice theory in the prisoner’s dilemma. Had Doug Parker offered money to ease the pain of the Nic- had the two sides reached a settlement that included fences early on, rational choice would have kicked in and I think that this could have ended outside the legal system. However, the problem of no real union would have not been solved. The McCaskill-Bond Amendment and the fact that there are now only four airlines is a positive trend for pilots. The USAirways / America West dispute cannot be remedied. At this point too much time has passed and too much damage is done.