The best reason to study history is to learn from the mistakes of the past and not repeat those mistakes in the future.

For all the AirTran folks out there, rumor is the TA that was reached allows AirTran to farm out everything with 86 seats or less! If this is true, this TA needs to be voted down. The 717 only holds 12/105. An 86 seat regional jet will replace mainline jobs. Let me say that again. An 86 seat regional jet will replace mainline jobs!!! What good is a decent contract if your job will be replaced. You won't be around to reap the rewards.

Ask any pilot at a legacy airline if it was a big mistake to give up scope. Everyone learned that giving up scope was a horrible idea. They made this mistake in the past. AirTran has a chance to learn from that mistake. Do not give up your scope. Vote your TA down.

AirTran's scope would be the worst in the entire industry. For regionals:
Continental is everything 50 seats and under. (Exception of some T-prop's)
American is everything 70 seats and under.
United is everything 70 seats and under.

Unless AirTran offers you a FedEx or UPS style contract, I would not allow anything larger than 50 seats to be outsourced! Also, a good scope clause should have atleast three provisions:
1. Limit on the number of seats (No more than 50 seats should be allowed)
2. Limit on the maximum gross weight (So they can't fly 100 seat aircraft with a lot of first class seats at a regional.
3. Limit on the number of aircraft.
Even if AirTran just wants 50 seat jets, the number of aircraft should be restricted so AirTran doesn't end up with a fleet of 300+ regional jets like many of the legacy airlines!

As for how giving up scope will affect AirTran pilots...
What major airlines have been growing over the past 6 years? The main three that come to mind are Southwest, JetBlue, and AirTran. What do all three of these companies have in common? They don't outsource their flying to regional airlines!!!
American, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest, and US Air have not been growing in the past 6 years. It is not because of a lack of growth in air travel. Every year, the entire systems at these legacy airlines continue to see more and more flights. All the growth has been at the regional level. None of the pilots at these legacy carriers have been able to enjoy the growth in air travel because they gave away their scope. The lack of growth is holding back their fleet progresion, holding back their upgrade, and causing them to loose lots of money and QOL.

If AirTran gives away their scope, they will give away their growth, and all the goodies that come with it (upgrade, increase in seniority, more money, more QOL, etc...)

I don't care how good the contract is. If AirTran gives away anything with up to 86 seats, the TA should be voted down. Hold out on scope. It is one of the very most important sections in your contract right up with pay and workrules. Learn from the mistakes of the past and don't repeat them in the future. Giving away scope will kill your career progression. Vote this TA down!!