Originally Posted by
TonyWilliams
I concur with John. ASA maintenance is already being merged with SkyWest (based on a talk by Jerry Atkins (CEO) in March 2007 with our new hire / upgrade class).
Nothing here in ATL other than rumors from the mechs. The rumors run the gamut. The best I've heard is "Delta is taking us next and merging us with the Comair mechanics to create a DCI maintenance"
Originally Posted by
TonyWilliams
He wouldn't merge the pilot groups because ASA is union, and we're not.
I spoke with Brad Holt (Chief Pilot) last month, and he mentioned that they could still combine the pilot groups, and then we'd all have to vote on a union. He pontificated that all the ASA guys would vote ALPA, and the majority of the SKW guys would vote NO. He inferred there wouldn't be ALPA.
Hate to say it, but Brad is being typically management optimistic. While I feel the current ALPA drive will fail, you still have 40-50% of Skywest pilots supporting ALPA from the last drive. Add that to the ASA pilots who will vote 90% in favor, and you'll get a strong majority for ALPA. This is why Jerry won't simply merge the groups. It's a gimme for ALPA.
That said, "ASA" (we know it's really Skywest, Inc) refuses to address our scope issues, stating that the best job protection they can offer is "preferential hiring at Skywest, only if Skywest is hiring". We are asking for current percentage of Skywest Inc flying, and current number of -700 airframes locked in as a minimum number to be flown by ASA pilots. The company's refusal to address scope seems to suggest that they intend to do away with ASA before this next contract expires.
Originally Posted by
TonyWilliams
SkyWest is taking planes from ASA now. I flew one the day before yesterday, and fly one tomorrow. The merger is taking place, piece by piece.
Skywest took 4 planes. Then they stopped transfering them because it cost over $100,000 per plane to transfer everything over and do a C check. This was announced on the last conference call.
The next transfers will be retirement & reward where an ASA -200 is traded in to Bombardier for a Skywest -700 or -900.
The RJs are scattered all over all the DCIs now, you can no longer tell who's plane it is by the tail number Comair flies ones that end in EV, SK, BR, and CA. Skywest is the same. However, y'all did get all of the -900 orders that had been earmarked for ASA in ATL. If we settled last year, you would not fly a single -900 in ATL now.