Originally Posted by
jethikoki
.... if DAL had the ability to buy out NWA, would all the NWA pilots have to be tested and interviewed at DAL?.
No.
Most mainline contracts permit outsourcing with certain limitations. At Delta that standard is 76 seats and 86,000 pounds. This "permitted" definition has greater importance in a merger.
In a corporate transaction an airline which operates non permitted airplanes gets a merger. Those who operate permitted aircraft do not.
So, ALPA has an entirely different representational standard if you have two seats installed under the PSU's in the back which make your airplane a 78 seat jet.
It has nothing to do with your airline's hiring standards, whether real or imagined.