monkeybrains

We were all new at one point or another, and I don't think you are naive. It is actually nice to see people walking through the terminal with smiles on their faces rather than the scowls that most of us have. Great work rules has been an F9 mantra for as long as I can remember. I believe this stems from the fact that, due to our niche in the industry, our contract worked for us in the past, not necessarily because of any great language, but because of the flying we did, and the make up of our pilot group.

As far as taking the next step goes, our contract becomes amendable in about 2.5 years, and hopefully we can start openers a year before that. As far as the biggest obstacles going forward, I would say that unfortunately the mentality of our group might be one of the biggest issues. I hear people using terms like "a kinder gentler Bill Franke" and "this is his last dance and he wants F9 to be the crowning jewel in his career" to which I shake my head. I have no doubt that F9 will be in great financial shape when the time come for negotiations, but without resolve and unity as a pilot group, we won't see any of it. Indigo is not going to get out their checkbook and moneywhip smiles on our face due to our collective sacrifices over the years. They are here for one reason, money. BF wants as much as he can get, and he doesn't want us to get any. The guy has more money than he could ever spend yet at 76 years old he is still putting up with this crap because he wants more. Me, I want to punch out at 50 and spend the rest of my years scuba diving in Belize. I hope our group can begin to get a grasp on how difficult the fight ahead is really going to be if we are going to negotiate an industry leading contract. I suppose only time will tell.