"Furlough protection—with certain exceptions, no pilot may be furloughed as a result of the merger for a period from merger announcement until 24 months after the close of the merger".

The reason? It will take that long to park DC9's. Then the furloughs will follow after the SLI. Count on it. Listen to RA and Bastian. I am an optimist, but their language is carefully crafted to NOT say anything about hub closures or furloughs. Listen to their words carefully, the devil is in the details, which are not worked out yet. Shoot first, then aim.