Originally Posted by
ecam
A bit of history to put things in context.
When Delta bought Comair in 1999, and ASA in 2000, everyone expected a merger and/or a staple. "Flow" was almost unheard of then. The ASA side tried to invoke ALPA merger policy on the floor of the BOD in 2000 and it was killed on the floor, then stuffed into a committee room. After rudimentary negotiations between the MECs, and some unreasonable demands from the senior folks at CMR and ASA, DALPA walked away. Then they instituted strict scope restrictions which limited our career potential. So we sued them for malfeasance and conflict of interest, demanding fair treatment by the union we all pay dues to, and application of ALPA's own merger policy. This lasted about 5 years. The settlement was that ALPA owes the regionals nothing in terms of seniority because they were "wholly owned subsidiaries" and not ever part of the mainline, with no parity in airframes or career expectation. However, the wholly owned regionals were to get "a seat at the table" in all future scope negotiations. ALPA's argument was that it was never a merger of equals.
Now it appears we are seeing this again. Except that ALPA's position hasn't changed. In fact, no ALPA represented pilot group has a flow through agreement. Flow is NOT popular with the MECs OR management because they lose control of hiring. Their argument is that there's A LOT of "undesirables" at the top of the regional airline seniority lists who literally have zero chance of being hired at a legacy due to lack of degrees, bad records, and terrible attitudes. Should these people be given a winning lottery ticket over other pilots who have all their ducks in a row? Is that good for anyone? Probably not. I didn't feel that way in 1999, but I get it now.
And furthermore, if ALPA (national) went back on their statement from the RJDC suit and reversed course, giving a purchased regional seniority, it would seem to negate that whole settlement. An awful lot of CMR and ASA pilots would be owed seniority numbers at DAL and the lawsuits would be tremendous. Ain't gonna happen.
UAL may or may not buy a stake in your company, but the best you will ever be offered is an "enhanced" CPP. Maybe skip the Hogan and get a guaranteed interview. You will NEVER be given straight seniority or even flow. If you want to work for a legacy, the best thing you can do is update your resume, step up your networking, and polish your interview skills. Sitting there waiting to see if something happens might be career suicide. A lot of great pilots spent years on the street or made lateral/backwards moves after we shut down. Your LGA base closing early should be all the sign you need!
Remember, it's easier to find a job when you already have a job.
You make a lot of assumptions. CPP is nothing more than a way to prevent people from leaving; another roadblock so United can maintain their precious feed (aka keeping us flying UA passengers at low, low rates).
American off-the-street hiring is practically nil, Delta, good luck; Now this CPP thing which is essentially a brake on those wishing to go to UAL. One gains nothing from the CPP program except ‘waiting their turn’ for a guaranteed personality exam that a wide majority of current UA pilots never took. Add to that the ability for UA personnel to dig into all your records, sick calls etc. since you were hired. I’ve got nothing to hide so I may give it a shot, but it’s essentially a ‘way in’ for UAL, not the other way around.
Apply outside of the CPP, you say? I’d be very curious to know how that’s working out. I’d venture to say very few if any are getting that call.
It’s about control and profit. That’s it. Nothing to do with a few schlubs that every airline has on their list. Terrible choice of career for anyone, really.
Just my opinion, of course