George Nicolau Page 33-34
AWARD
4. The first 161 positions as Captain and the first 262
positions as First Officers on the A330 and B767, or
replacement aircraft as herein defined, shall be
reserved for the top tier pre-merger US Airways pilots
for a period of four years from the date of this Award.
However, if the Age 60 limit is changed to Age 65
during the existence of this condition and restriction,
said condition and restriction shall cease to, exist
upon the effective date of the age limit change. As long
as the condition and restriction does exist positions in
excess of the aforesaid quota as well as positions
within the quota if there are insufficient bidders for
said vacancies from the US Airways top tier group shall
be allocated pursuant to the Seniority List as shall
positions within this quota upon the expiration of this
restriction.
5. A330, B767 or similar aircraft that replace the existing
A330 and B767 aircraft set forth in Condition 4 that no
longer remain in the fleet are "replacement" aircraft
within the meaning of Condition 4. All other aircraft, of
whatever type, are "new" aircraft, positions on which
are to be allocated to the pre-merger US Airways and
America West pilot groups, respectively, 2:1 on wide- widebodies
bodies and 1: 1 on narrow-bodies for a period of four
years from the date of this Award. Thereafter,
positions are to be allocated pursuant to the Seniority
List.
George Nicolau Page 22-23
Discussion and Analysis
Though we have not constructed the list based on Age 65
retirement, closing statements and ongoing events have persuaded us
that we should consider the possibility of that change occurring. With
that in mind, we have set forth a change in the condition and
restriction we intend to impose on bidding for the A330 and B767
positions, finding it prudent to incorporate the likelihood of such a
change into our view of the post-integration world. The FAA's
announcement of a Notice for Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the
pending legislation in both houses of Congress, and the drive to
harmonize with the ICAO age standards have all created a momentum
for change that has not been present to date. In so far as we have
imposed conditions & restrictions that affect a pilot's ability to bid into a
particular type of equipment and status for a set period of time, we
recognize that the measure of attrition is a component in determining
the length of such a restriction. Were the Age 60 Rule to change within
the period such conditions and restrictions are in place, such a change
would have a negative impact on the attrition component which we
relied on in our original thinking. If the FAA FAAAge Age 60 Rule were to change
within the period of the restriction on pilots bidding into the existing
international wide-body aircraft (A330 and 8767), any restrictions with
respect to the bidding for positions in those aircraft would be made null
and void on the date of implementation of the change. US Airways pilots
entitled to bid those positions have already been protected for two years.
A further fence of four years from the date of this Award is based on
attrition projected on Age 60 retirement. If the age limit were raised to
65 and becomes effective prior to the expiration of the condition and
restriction in 2011, there seems little fairness in its continuance.