Fortunately for them, negotiating against our pilot group is far simpler than running an airline. They don't really need to be "that smart."

Imagine if Bob Jordan, Lee Kinnebrew, and crew had to play a football game against an NFL team. You'd think they'd get demolished, right? But the Achilles Heel of this particular hypothetical NFL team is that they are shockingly unfamiliar with the rules of football AND they're extremely gullible.

Bob Jordan, for example, is able to convince the players on the NFL team that every time the ball is snapped that their players must freeze in place on the field for a full minute while Bob's team can immediately run the ball into the end zone or pile on the quarterback.

Bob is even able to convince the NFL players that scoring is pointless for them because the referees are biased against NFL players and will immediately revoke any points the NFL team happens to score. "So," the players grumble, "why even try to score if the ref will just take our points away?"

Bob even persuades the NFL team that losing is preferable for them because, bizarrely, their team owner rewards players on a losing team with more lucrative contracts than players on a winning team.

And so, bafflingly and against all odds, Bob's team of middle-aged dad bods and elderly geezers beats the NFL team of elite athletes at a game of football. So weird.

It's kind of like what happens every contract cycle with our pilot group.