That person that posted that initial post in "that other thread" represents what has always been the worst about the airline pilot profession. It is people like that have prevented the implementation of any sort of national seniority list (something that would need to be implemented from a certain date forward to prevent the obvious complications to people with a lot of seniority at the "have" carriers) or other mechanism to prevent pilots from being played against each other. It is truly sad.

While 4a2b needs some fixing (particularly concerning flex and reserve people), reducing the flying across the board, before furloughing is the RIGHT THING TO DO. I have a quarter century at this company, and so, it might be possible for me to avoid a pay cut if I choose. I am not a flex or reserve, so that doesn't impact me either. I sure could use the money, fitting nicely into the stereotypical profile of ex-wives, alimony, child support and being over extended. Taking a pay cut will cause some serious pain for me, selling things off, and a lot of other things, to try to make ends meet. That said, I would not even think of doing anything else if I can help keep someone from going onto the street.

Does my thinking also benefit the company? Probably, but so what? The company will survive and do fine whether we furlough or not, although better if they can avoid it for them. However, the impact on that furloughed pilot? Huge.

One final thing. I have worked in management at this company, and for the union. I have seen the inside of both. Despite all the talk here, the majority of those on BOTH sides are just trying to do the right thing and keep the pain to a minimum for everyone. We are fortunate to have good people who actually care on both sides right now. You can choose to believe that or not, but it is the truth.

We need to concentrate on WHAT is right, not WHO is right. Sharing the pain is the right thing to do, and, together, we will be a stronger group on the other side of it. Those junior people won't forget it. Those junior people at AA didn't when the opposite was done to them.

One day, those on the bottom of our list will be playing a big part in how our retirement benefits and other things are determined. I would want them to be thinking about how the senior people protected them way back in 2009.