As you might imagine, this recall is topic #1 with all of us AA'ers...active and retired.

The 'official word' is that 10/month will offset attrition only. How much faith do we have in that? Only the amount of faith that we have in anything coming from corporate operations. You probably can guess how much that is.

Given the number of folks on the street, even with the most sanguine estimates here, it will take 5 years or more to get everyone back who wants to come back. Five years in this industry is a long, long, time...as we all know, anything may happen in such a time frame.

Don't be too sure about the number of folks who will turn down the recall if you are using past experiences at other carriers. Being recalled to AA is not like being recalled to a less prosperous carrier or a carrier with less potential for the future.

Right now, the attitude with our folks is one of cautious optimism. Many did not expect a recall announcement until the present union negotiations had reached some agreement...and the summer season is over and with it the greater need for pilots. Once again, this only proves the old maxim that we'll never know what's going to happen until it does.

Bottom line...some recalls are much better than none at all. But it's going to be a long haul to get everyone back who wants to come back.