I DO have some perspective. Believe me. This is not my first rodeo. Hell, I could have a "normal/regular" job which would, well........suck for lack of a better word.

My airline could have folded and I could be out on the street (I'm talking in general, not that AirTran was in the same dire situation as TWA or ATA at the time of merger/acquisition). Many, many on here have had to endure that stress. I can't imagine having to go through that especially once you're further along in life and have a family to take care of as well.

Hell, I could have been born mentally disable or be a paraplegic from an accident or something. There's a lot worse fates in this world than mine. Trust me when I tell you that I count my blessings.

I'd like everyone to read Rolf's post and then read Thunder 1's post on this page. Does anyone notice a massive difference in attitude? If we're going to be honest here, the pilots of AirTran got royally screwed. We all have people that we place the blame on for that. However, at least Rolf has the ability to see the fact that this was a raw deal for us. I've also run into a very few guys on the line who in one way or another basically apologized or at least verbally recognized this in conversation with me. THAT GOES A LOOOOOOONG WAY! I'll gladly drink beers with someone like that. If we can have a normal conversation about it then it really is almost therapeutic.

On the other hand, you have the majority of SW pilots who believe one or more of the following things:

- AirTran pilots are just those who could never get hired at SW (psssst, most of us, myself included never had a desire to work there and thus never applied)

- We should have ALL been stapled and/or made to pay for our 737 types and/or put on probation (yes, believe it or not they actually proposed that in SLI talks. Imagine, even our most senior Cptns put on probation!)

- We should have never been integrated in the first place and instead just the airplanes and assets should have been taken, but not the pilots.

- After an almost 100% YES vote to strike with almost 100% voter participation, the only reason we got a new and improved contract was because of the acquisition (see Thunder 1's post that I referenced).

That last one REALLY torques me off but I guess should come as no surprise as the majority of SW pilots don't really have any airline experience outside of SW, and you see I'm coming to find out that that's really where the majority of this "holier than thou" attitude stems from.

When you have never been to any other carrier except all "peaches and cream" SW who up until recently has always negotiated in good faith, then perhaps it's only logical that you think your airline is the be all and end all.

Well, it's not. In fact, having had multiple airline experience, I can tell you that while some things are head and shoulders better than other carriers (namely the schedulers, schedules and efficiency of those schedules), some things like your Flt Ops are nothing short of appalling.

It all makes PERFECT sense why there are so many SWA accidents and incidents. Not just that, but also the way in which the airplanes are operated are downright embarrassing at times. It's no longer missiles strapped to the wings, boys. There's actual pax in the back and FAs wandering the aisles. How about a little smoothness and a gentle touch on the flight controls and the tiller?

But I digress. Pre-rant my point was that if SWAPA pilots would ditch the "you hit the lottery" attitude that's directed at us and either verbalized or not (although plainly evident if you read between the lines of conversation out on the line), perhaps this bitter pill would be a lot easier to swallow. Take Rolf's lead and show a little more humility and I can promise you that even I will as well.

For the time being though, as long as the majority of you continue to approach stealing our seniority and Cptn seats with the indifference and in some cases even glee that you do, many of us WILL be looking for payback somewhere down the road in our professional piloting careers.

I will always continue to operate the aircraft safely, smoothly and professionally no matter what paint scheme is on the outside of it. However, as an example of "returning the LUV", I'd recommend against asking for my jumpseat should you find yourself looking to bum a ride at another carrier and I'm PIC somewhere down the road of this crazy profession that we're all involved in.

Also, don't be surprised if you were to receive the same luke-warm reception from former AirTran pilots further down the road. I flew with a lot of ex-ATA pilots at AirTran. If you think they hated your lot before, you should be a fly on the wall now.

Ditch the pompous arrogance. Your $chitty, poorly run airline is making money despite themselves. You (we) could be in bankruptcy quicker than you realize or a more likely scenario....shut down by the Feds due to all the accidents and incidents that seem to happen on a seemingly weekly basis at this outfit.

Take Rolf's lead and try to swallow a dose of much needed humility and I'll do the same.