Originally Posted by
LAX Pilot
For the obvious reason that hiring a new pilot off the street under the CAL work rules was cheaper than recalling a furloughee who may be on 8th year pay under the UAL work rules and higher overall compensation plan.
Management chose the cheapest solution.
That's exactly what US Airways management did (read: former AWA management). The West had 141 airplanes and 1900 pilots when the AWA-AAA merger was announced and the East had 1600 pilots on furlough. Now, the West has 122 airframes, the East has gotten 9 additional A330s, and all the hiring has been on the East and all the furloughs have been on the West. There's one reason: the East making $124 an hour as Group II CA and virtually no work rules were cheaper.