Originally Posted by
airlinegypsy
In the event of a merger I would expect the flow agreements to play a huge part in SLI. The Pinnacle-Mesaba-Colgan merger used career progression expectations as a major factor in determining how things got mixed together. An Envoy pilot hired before Oct. 2011 has had an unobstructed expectation of flow for quite a long time whereas those at PDT and PSA have only recently been offered such an option. Combine that with the fact that most of PSA's seniority list was hired in the last 18 months, an integration based on either career expectation or just straight DOH would heavily favor Envoy.
True, but.........
......while Envoy pilots then might capture more flow slots, they have more pilots to move through, whereas those hiring on aboard PSA/Piedmont would move to AA almost as fast do to hiring on to an expanding carrier vs. a contracting one and have a stronger potential to upgrade sooner giving them earlier competitive points for other options.
This is only in a "merger" scenario as well. In an "acquisition" scenario, all bets are off. In a non-consolidation scenario, it would be in AAG's interest to have an even situation in not only flow, but contractual provisions as well, as it is counter-productive to weaken any of their regionals to benefit another.