Originally Posted by
Tenacvols
We won’t get released.....
Like Proximity said, it doesn’t matter. It’s the “book away effect“ leading up to the POSSIBILITY of a strike that creates fear and uncertainty in the minds of passengers, causing them to “book away” from the airline in question. That, in turn, gets the attention of airline management.
Case in point: in 2018, Allegiant’s pilots threatened to strike entirely outside of the bounds of the RLA. There was no possibility of them getting released because they weren’t even in Section 6 negotiations or mediation. Allegiant’s management knew there was no possibility of their pilots getting released and any strike would have been completely illegal.
Yet, even with that backdrop, Allegiant’s management turned scared. In a 2018 court filing, they stated this:
The Defendants’ threatened and impending use of self-help would severely disrupt Allegiant’s operations, resulting in both significant economic harm and irreparable damage to its goodwill. Allegiant estimates that a strike during peak summer travel months would cost it roughly $15.1 million a day in lost revenue, fare refunds, vouchers to displaced and inconvenienced passengers, and other expenses.
That is the “book away” effect. Had Allegiant’s pilots been on a legal path to self help, it would have made their threat of the possibility of a strike that much more real to management. That is leverage. “Book away” happens before a release and way before a strike ever happens.
Btw, Allegiant ended 2018 with 76 aircraft. That’s roughly 10% the size of SWA’s current fleet.