I'm an ExpressJet alum. I understand whipsaw. Eventually all airlines merge or fail (see SW, Delta, AA, United, Pan Am, Eastern, TWA and so many others). Not all mergers are bad for everyone. The codeshare w/ Volaris is a foreign airline - not a domestic. So, even though they are probably cheaper they are still restricted from doing certain flying. Let's see what the language says about the share.

At the same time, I'm also not under the illusion that I work for an airline that gives two s*&ts about me or you or anyone else. How long does anyone REALLY expect Frontier to exist in the form of employing US pilots at US industry standard wages? There are literally a 100+ other airlines (both domestic and foreign) that already operate at cheaper rates than F9 does (even at our ridiculously low pay rates). The ability to codeshare has been in place for a while now and as mentioned previously, Obama and Trump aren't going to stop NAI - it's a wonder all of our labor hasn't been shared out already. Are there really regionals and/or foreign airlines positioned to do that much of F9 flying? If so, why haven't deals been struck already? For us, is the thought process now to close the barn door now that one cow has been let out? How much do you presume that will cost in terms of hourly rate? This contract never had scope - now all of the sudden we're worried about it since they actually decided to exercise that option? Are you really surprised at this - especially during negotiations? To that end, why would F9 allow ANY codeshare restrictions at this point?

I don't know the answers - neither do you. All I do know is that this is FRONTIER AIRLINES. This is NOT a long term destination airline. This is NOT some place to go to expect a 30+ year career and a place to hope your kids become a part of. This airline's fate was sealed the second Indigo signed the purchase agreement. I knew that when I got hired. I don't have the expectation of rainbows and unicorns dancing....I plan on staying only as long as it takes to get hired elsewhere and to get as much $ as I can while I'm here. This company does not care about the pilot group. So, in these negotiations, what we need as a pilot group is furlough protection as long as the cost of which is not too high. Otherwise, we need to be shooting for MAX pay. Many people talked about the Spirit AIP as some success story - do you still think so now w/ the looming Volaris codeshare deal? If the seniority list stagnates and concessionary contracts come as part of being codeshared out to the max, I will view that as an inevitable part of flying and we all have the distinct pleasure of picking the wrong airline - whether you were here before Indigo or not doesn't matter. We need to get our money NOW before we don't have the ability to get anything at all. This airline is an investment and the sooner we all realize that the smarter we will be about how we go about positioning ourselves in this and subsequent negotiations.