Hummingbear,

I think you are projecting a little bit on that one… I think with myself, and people like SunVox are saying, is that there is a significant portion of our pilot group, who are very focused on pay rates… They generally don’t admit it, but stoking the flames of not acknowledging that that 5% was in fact a down payment on a future contract I do not believe is helpful overall. If we beat Delta by 5%, but do not approve many of our soft time mechanisms, like vacation, pay, training, pay, sick pay, reassignments, etc., then that 5% is essentially what you see at American Airlines now… A high hourly rate with very few contractual mechanisms to back it up. I think we should focus more of our efforts on catching up to some of their other provisions, not dying on the hill that “the 5% will not be a down payment.”

Like I said, elsewhere, the hourly rate for a specific aircraft type, C, longevity is the thing to focus on, not what the percentage increase was from our previous book. Then, look at the many other ways that we could increase or quality of life, soft time, etc..