Originally Posted by
PBone
Rick, as far as I can tell, they almost have to. I’m pretty sure I read in the LOA that they can’t call back incentive lines early if there is anyone furloughed, which would indicate it’s a possibility to have both EILs and furloughs simultaneously. If they needed to furlough, it wouldn’t make sense to recall a bunch of Captains and senior FOs (let’s call that the expensive end of the list) just so they can chop off even more of the bottom of the list (the least expensive pilots) to attain the correct staffing numbers.
I think the furlough threat is extremely low for the next year or so. The company web site says the cash burn rate is down to 2.6 million a day and that's before any of the staff reductions that are taking place Oct 1. They could theoretically furlough with people on EIL if 2021 turns out to be a bust but would more likely negotiate with the union for other mitigation like another round of EILs, EIL extensions, or reduced bid blocks. Will be interesting to see the next bid that supposedly will be effective Jan 31.