Heiko is a smart and experienced negotiator who is obviously a leading candidate. However, if I were in a position to put together and vote for a NC I would have to have assurances from Heiko and any other candidates they would be committed to and adhere to a strategy and commitment to achieve a TA without sacrificing additional concessions other than those agreed to by the MEC beforehand. And the only one that I think would pass muster at this point is a seat lock of 2 years for new hires. Other than that--nada. When asked for more just show the benefits gained from massive concessions given in the past and the failure of the company to get our inflation adjusted pay rates back to where they were over a decade ago. Include the loss of the DB plan.

During C2012 we were making record profits and still we made concessions. Why would a leopard change his spots? Yes, we're in a better position this time around, but without an assurance that would convince us of his not repeating history why and how could we trust Heiko to not make major concessions?

When I spoke to Heiko prior to the C12 TA vote I asked him why 88/90 pay was not brought up to A320 pay he answered with, "No one asked for it in the survey." I'm not saying he told me an untruth (I didn't put that in my survey response), but I spoke to about five MD88 captains who said they did. And when I asked how much giving up ALV+15 was worth in dollars I got a non-answer. Still he's capable, but obviously not overly impressive, IMHO.

Barring the hiring of professional negotiators which would deliver the best results, I'd say we could do a lot worse than Heiko, but hopefully we can do a lot better.