gloopy

By that logic, how many SWA pilots were furloughed when they ran the AirTran alter ego operation?

Our scope clause is already set up to prevent the company from doing something like that indefinitely and on their terms. So the DCI inference is irrelevant. What was allowed under DCI was unlimited in duration and (at the time) block hours and flights. Only seats per plane and a few minor other restrictions were in place.

What SWA implied/threatened to do, if AT didn't agree to their terms, was to modify their scope to allow the temporary (big difference...kind of like how AT allowed the temporary alter ego for Ryan to fly Busses to the west coast to seat dump JB out of the market) "alter ego" operation for the purpose of phasing it out as assets were transferred. That is not the same as DCI with DL. Not even close.

I'm not saying that would happen under this hypothetical, just that it could. DALPA could very well be pressured by national to roll over and get hammered with a full relative integration to serve as a recruitment tool for other non ALPA groups to join. Arbitrators (if it gets to that point) are madly in love wth relative integration, which for a legacy airline would mean a windfall in favor of a younger rapid growth LCC. We can further speculate about the value of the various pay rates for equipment and the expectations of wide body flying and all that, but it would be potentially disastrous for our pilot group to put all that in the hands of someone who works for a system that robotically leans towards relative.

That's why SW pilots and management worked together in that merger. DL, UA, AA or even SW. The last 3 are way more likely future JB dance partners than DL is at this point anyway, even assuming there's not a fragmentation.

But since you brought up DCI, there is at least one relevant parallel. The group with the most to gain will obviously push as hard as they can to take the runway, throttle up and reach V1, and then force a resolution once there's no way out because they know the worst case is limited (staple in theory, but probably full relative at the narrow body equivalent positions level) and the best case is an almost unimaginable windfall (full relative period, perhaps with some minor fences). All whilst touting the sanctity of "the process" despite the true motives.

IMO no pilot group will (or should) roll over and let that happen. DL, AA and UA (and NW and US) in particular have suffered more than enough stagnation, much of which happened during and because of JB's (and others) phenomenal growth phase. To then turn that over to the potential for full relative would be disastrous.

But again, I see a DL/JB tie up (at this point) as an extremely low possibility. AA, UA and SW are many times more likely, even if it happens, which it might not anyway. The seniority dynamics and concerns would still apply, but only UA is ALPA as of now and who knows what they would do. We know what AA and SW will do; protect their pilot groups from the risk of full relative integration by any available means.