Originally Posted by Hueypilot

Something else to consider when weighing the final decision, assuming the BOD doesn't just tell the company to pound sand and some kind of agreement is reached:

I've been reading about how we'd be giving concessions, and that by going to arbitration, we won't give any concessions. But that's not entirely true. Unfortunately, we'll be giving away things in arbitration too, things that no one is really talking about much.

We agreed to uniform allowances and paid moves, which are great. But arbitration will remove those items.

And one of the bigger items that no one is really bringing up is first year pay. Guys are complaining that they are being thrown under the bus and might have to do up to four midnight sims a year, or upset that they might have to fly both international and domestic schedules. But no one seems too concerned that we're going to hire upwards of 3,000 people over the course of this contract, and we're going to make all of them go through a year of regional pay, while their peers at Delta and United are sitting comfortably at $70+ per hour.

That's a lot to give up, even if it doesn't really affect us. And in 2-3 years, you can bet there will be people who will have to choose between 2 and 3 different employment offers. Why would they stay at AA to just try and not go bankrupt their first year?

Just something else to consider in the big picture.