Mag,

You obviously weren't S/T. Because you apparently have no clue how the budget works. Either that or your MEC blew the SMRA on Flight Pay Loss every year.

Caveat: You may have a point about the purse strings. I seem to recall that National was forced to ship additional moneys above and beyond their MEC accounts and SMRA to some regional airlines since their dues levels were so pathetic.

Having said that, National does not negotiate, approve or ratify any individual airline's contracts. They pro forma sign them after the deal is delivered. National's role is advisory only. If you don't take their advice and screw the pooch, that's a YOUR MEC problem.