Originally Posted by
F9 Driver
That was my point. FAPA was offered work rule changes rather than giving up pay rates, but refused. The argument over what the rules were worth vs what each dollar/hr was worth would have taken long enough to push us into contract rejection, and the company would have gotten both - same as all the Legacy carriers had happen to them.
It's an academic question about whether ALPA fighting the age 65 / ICAO rule change would have affected anything, but my point is that the goal of ALPA's majority and the goal of the FAPA majority may diverge. If we are ALPA represented we join their numbers in representing a plan that may not benefit Frontier pilots (regionals vs Legacies comes to mind - how is ULCC vs Legacy going to be handled?)
FAPA has participated in ALPA's safety programs (and paid its own way to attend), and will continue to do so. No freeloading. We are all of the same mind on those goals at least.
Merry Christmas!
I was just curious as to how the concessions went. I thought that maybe there wasn't enough in the form of work rule and retirement concessions and therefore it came out of pay rates only. Legacies tended to have more mature rules and pensions before the bk restructuring so those were the big ticket items management went after.
As for age 65, the fact that it passed both chambers of confess UNANIMOUSLY (not one single vote against) and signed by the president all within days, to me, proves it was inevitable. Maybe ALPA could've fought to postpone it but it was coming either way. My point as in safety advocacy is that you (frontier pilots) would have an actual voice in forming ALPA policy. I haven't seen or heard of any non-ALPA pilot being on any ARC, testifying before congress, or participating in ntsb investigations, or collaborating with government agencies. Anytime these entities want to know about our profession, they go to ALPA, not FAPA.
As for ulcc versus legacies, ask spirit, or even JetBlue and virgin. The fact of the matter is that when it comes to what each pilot group wants to negotiate or not negotiate for, the local MEC has ultimate and unfettered control over that. When it comes to safety and security, the non local issues, the BOD decides as a group what ALPA will push for or fight. This is true of regionals as well. It's just that there isn't enough education of pilots on how these matters work. It's a big misconception that there is any conflict of interest.