Originally Posted by ClimbClimbNow

>>And frankly, cause and effect between VBs and good/bad experience will be difficult to establish for anyone but those who are awarded VB assignments. <<

That is true. So the guys who "win the VB lottery" will be singing in the streets.

I'm wondering if there IS any reliable source of information on the effects of VB on the pilot group as a whole.

To my knowledge, our national union has a roomful of analysts (E&FA) who are ACTUALLY as smart as many of us on the forum here THINK we are. Did they provide us with any information??

Yes, I think they did..



Pragmatically, assuming the contract passes we will see some VB. I see three possible outcomes:

1. Complete disaster for the company. In this case they won't use VBs. Game over.

2. Complete disaster for (most of) the pilot group. In this case, we can terminate the VB program. Game over.

3. (Most likely). Parties wish to continue the VB. Parties meet and concur to finalize a VB LOA. As in any contractual arrangement, there should be an exchange of considerations. If we've gotten to this stage, we know the company sees a benefit. As mentioned before, the pilots bidding VB obviously see a benefit. So who's left in the cold and what can be done to give them a little sugar and get a deal done?

We would be agreeing to permanently surrender a finite, no-zero number of pilot jobs (as per our own expert's analysis) when we have the clear option NOT to do so. It's simply a business decision that will be made by our bargaining agent. I would expect clear and substantial quids that would accrue primarily to those who lose the most from VB (insomuch as we are able to target that subset).