Colgan
To ensure every pilot would remain within 3 percent of their current pre- merger seniority rank, the Colgan pilots’ proposal creates 30 blocks, each containing 88 pilots from the three groups. Pilots would be placed within each block according to a ratio (1 Colgan to 2.5 Pinnacle to 2 Mesaba pilots), a ratio mirroring the size of the respective groups. Additionally, the Colgan group proposes that (1) no pilot be displaced from their position as a result of the integration and (2) any furloughs resulting from pre-July 1, 2010 scheduled fleet reductions be borne by the pre-July, 2010 pilot group.
The Colgan representatives say the only reason there were not more furloughs by Mesaba was that Pinnacle Corporation, following the Mesaba purchase, transferred Colgan flying (for US Airways) to Mesaba Saabs at LaGuardia. In this way, says Colgan, Colgan Air helped save Mesaba jobs.
The Colgan group seeks to retain to all pilots the type of bidding power they had at their pre-merger airlines. But this type of parity, an attempt to share the enhanced conditions more equally, is achieved at the demonstrable expense of Status and Category considerations, taken in light of reasonable pre-merger expectations. The overwhelming majority of Colgan pilots who, pre-merger, had career expectations limited to flying turboprop aircraft would, following the integration, achieve bidding power into aircraft and pay scales well beyond any that could have reasonably been contemplated prior to the merger.