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Old 01-09-2013, 04:47 AM
  #171  
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Originally Posted by Wiskey Driver View Post
You are really having issues tonight huh maybe its time you got laid! I take everything Parker says with a grain of salt. I know not to hang my hat on his words because what he says to the west is the polar opposite of what he tells you in the east. Now you guys on the other hand are very quick to point out that "Parker said this and Parker said that". When you grow up you will learn that ceo's are known for talking out of both sides of their mouths.

Now lets discuss this fire sale comment seeing as this is what has your dander up tonight. Its not a secret that USEast was on the ropes and about to die. That didnt happen BECAUSE of Parker and AWA! No other carrier out there was going to touch USAir, not Delta, NWA, AA, UAL no one. Today you are still employed as a major airline pilot as a direct result of Parker and AWA and there is no two ways about it period end of that story and please dont make me dig up the articles to further embarrass you.

Now are we clear? If so lets get back to being civil

WD at AWA
This is the quintessential westie post. You pull something out of your rear that is wrong. I show you factual data that proves you were wrong. You don't answer the facts, you go with "You need to get laid!", "You were about to shut down!" You cannot counter what I said because they are facts, so you go to personal insults and diversions. What a man.

Why would digging up articles about US Airways imminent demise embarrass me? It wasn't my fault, I'd done my best for the company since 1986. I was expecting that to happen and planning for it. Sometimes I wonder if I personally would have been better off. If you would READ my post you would see that I acknowledged that the merger was beneficial to BOTH airlines.

The both part is where you guys come unhinged. You have this illusion that AWA was kicking A and taking names and that by some cosmic kindness you (personally it seems btw) came in and saved that Titanic from disaster. That's just not how it was. The entire airline industry was headed for a storm when we merged. AWA was no different. At the time you were making a modest profit, but mostly because of fuel hedging. You had just had your rears kicked when you tried to compete with the big boys on the trans-con markets. The other majors had or were about to reduce their costs to closer to your level through restructuring but they had a massive revenue advantage. You had an outstanding ATSB loan and a looming cash crunch. Airplanes coming with no where to put them. Those are facts.
Would there been other paths that were equally good? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe had you tried an alternate path you would have liquidated. Maybe Bill Gates would have cleaned the change out of his sock drawer and massively funded US Airways and we would have taken over AWA. Possible-Yes. Probable-No. I think Parkers view on this is right on and he is in a better position to say that either of us.

That is why Parker was trying so hard for a merger. He found a willing, and it turns out, able partner in US Airways. We used your contract as a template for LOA 93 and had our costs down. The "barbell" concept made parts of each other's route structure that were previously weak stronger. Within a year we were making record profits(even if we were paid properly we would still be profitable) and we doing the same now and are now in a position to try and merge with AA to become the largest airline in the world. Neither AWA or US would have been in that position before.

You guys feel that this merger has damaged your careers. It hasn't, at least as compared with the probable outcome of a standalone AWA. We don't know what would have happened, but if you look at what happened to the other airlines it didn't look good. That's what Parker has told you over and over again, and you choose to ignore THOSE words. You compare what has happened with the grand vision of what was and what you THINK would have happened. Delta FREAKING Air Lines filed Chp 11. Northwest did too. Frontier. VA doesn't make money. Southwest is no longer climbing like a 737. But, oh AWA would have soared with 7 year captains forever!

I know it makes you feel better about your current situation to feel the way you do, but it's just not the truth. The truth is that George Nicolau handed you something that was unachievable at the time. If we had completed a joint contract prior to his award, it would have been. The LAS base still would have closed. PHX would have shrunk more. But you guys would have been able to recover those loses on the east. But, we didn't have one, our T/A calls for one and no matter what the reason, without one you're stuck. But, the T/A also allowed the shrinking of PHX to be stopped. So, you have that. You guys decided to not give an inch on the Nic even though ALPA told you that you were at great risk with the T/A. You decided that you wouldn't and formed AOL to sue to greatness. Your choice, your right, but now you want someone else to blame because it hasn't been as easy as you thought. Naming your group Army of Leonidas should have been a clue. As much as you despise the east you and guys like cacti are just like the diehard DOH guys that voted in USAPA without accepting that it meant that we would be caught up in civil war and stuck on our respective contracts for years. Both sides of this need to accept where we are.

Now, are WE clear sport? You have run into my Scott side. Hardheaded, and not one to take half-lies and outright lies. Any time you would like to start being civil let me know. I have never started one of these little spats. I've said we should drop the past and that if want to discuss things take it to PMs as so many have asked. You guys won't do it. It's time to learn from the past but move on. DL/NW and UA/CO learned, let's join them.

Cacti told me that his reason for posting here was to educate OAL pilots about what happened. Oh, they've gotten an education, but not what old cacti had in mind.
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Old 01-09-2013, 05:30 AM
  #172  
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Originally Posted by Wiskey Driver View Post
I really hope you understand that no one on the west side will support you on that.
WD at AWA
Why start now???..The west has not supported ANYTHING the east has proposed in the last 5 years.. I get a kick every time I see a westie bring to light the damage that loa93 inflicts on the east. Well let me enlighten YOU sport. The reason why the west is at min. block hrs., pilots are on furlough, and stagnation will continue, is a DIRECT result of loa93..
Its quite simple you see. Its simple ECONOMICS. Any future growth will be placed on the pilot group with the "cheapest labor".. This is why the APA demands that BOTH sides be placed on the same PAY SCALE, on the past and probably on the up coming MOU. It restricts the Co. from "Whipsawing" the pilot group by transferring flying to the cheaper contract. Something AOL never saw coming...
I guess your genius leadership missed this little caveat!!
By encouraging the Co. to keep the east on loa93, you have GIVEN away any prospect of growth and advancement on the west side...
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face..
I reiterate. If it wasn't because of the Min. Block hr. provisions of OUR TA, The PHX base would have shrunk to focus city status...Your welcome!!
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:03 AM
  #173  
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Originally Posted by R57 relay View Post
This is the quintessential westie post. You pull something out of your rear that is wrong. I show you factual data that proves you were wrong. You don't answer the facts, you go with "You need to get laid!", "You were about to shut down!" You cannot counter what I said because they are facts, so you go to personal insults and diversions. What a man.

Why would digging up articles about US Airways imminent demise embarrass me? It wasn't my fault, I'd done my best for the company since 1986. I was expecting that to happen and planning for it. Sometimes I wonder if I personally would have been better off. If you would READ my post you would see that I acknowledged that the merger was beneficial to BOTH airlines.

The both part is where you guys come unhinged. You have this illusion that AWA was kicking A and taking names and that by some cosmic kindness you (personally it seems btw) came in and saved that Titanic from disaster. That's just not how it was. The entire airline industry was headed for a storm when we merged. AWA was no different. At the time you were making a modest profit, but mostly because of fuel hedging. You had just had your rears kicked when you tried to compete with the big boys on the trans-con markets. The other majors had or were about to reduce their costs to closer to your level through restructuring but they had a massive revenue advantage. You had an outstanding ATSB loan and a looming cash crunch. Airplanes coming with no where to put them. Those are facts.
Would there been other paths that were equally good? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe had you tried an alternate path you would have liquidated. Maybe Bill Gates would have cleaned the change out of his sock drawer and massively funded US Airways and we would have taken over AWA. Possible-Yes. Probable-No. I think Parkers view on this is right on and he is in a better position to say that either of us.

That is why Parker was trying so hard for a merger. He found a willing, and it turns out, able partner in US Airways. We used your contract as a template for LOA 93 and had our costs down. The "barbell" concept made parts of each other's route structure that were previously weak stronger. Within a year we were making record profits(even if we were paid properly we would still be profitable) and we doing the same now and are now in a position to try and merge with AA to become the largest airline in the world. Neither AWA or US would have been in that position before.

You guys feel that this merger has damaged your careers. It hasn't, at least as compared with the probable outcome of a standalone AWA. We don't know what would have happened, but if you look at what happened to the other airlines it didn't look good. That's what Parker has told you over and over again, and you choose to ignore THOSE words. You compare what has happened with the grand vision of what was and what you THINK would have happened. Delta FREAKING Air Lines filed Chp 11. Northwest did too. Frontier. VA doesn't make money. Southwest is no longer climbing like a 737. But, oh AWA would have soared with 7 year captains forever!

I know it makes you feel better about your current situation to feel the way you do, but it's just not the truth. The truth is that George Nicolau handed you something that was unachievable at the time. If we had completed a joint contract prior to his award, it would have been. The LAS base still would have closed. PHX would have shrunk more. But you guys would have been able to recover those loses on the east. But, we didn't have one, our T/A calls for one and no matter what the reason, without one you're stuck. But, the T/A also allowed the shrinking of PHX to be stopped. So, you have that. You guys decided to not give an inch on the Nic even though ALPA told you that you were at great risk with the T/A. You decided that you wouldn't and formed AOL to sue to greatness. Your choice, your right, but now you want someone else to blame because it hasn't been as easy as you thought. Naming your group Army of Leonidas should have been a clue. As much as you despise the east you and guys like cacti are just like the diehard DOH guys that voted in USAPA without accepting that it meant that we would be caught up in civil war and stuck on our respective contracts for years. Both sides of this need to accept where we are.

Now, are WE clear sport? You have run into my Scott side. Hardheaded, and not one to take half-lies and outright lies. Any time you would like to start being civil let me know. I have never started one of these little spats. I've said we should drop the past and that if want to discuss things take it to PMs as so many have asked. You guys won't do it. It's time to learn from the past but move on. DL/NW and UA/CO learned, let's join them.

Cacti told me that his reason for posting here was to educate OAL pilots about what happened. Oh, they've gotten an education, but not what old cacti had in mind.
OK

WD at AWA
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:22 AM
  #174  
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Originally Posted by LittleBoyBlew View Post
Why start now???..The west has not supported ANYTHING the east has proposed in the last 5 years.. I get a kick every time I see a westie bring to light the damage that loa93 inflicts on the east. Well let me enlighten YOU sport. The reason why the west is at min. block hrs., pilots are on furlough, and stagnation will continue, is a DIRECT result of loa93..
Its quite simple you see. Its simple ECONOMICS. Any future growth will be placed on the pilot group with the "cheapest labor".. This is why the APA demands that BOTH sides be placed on the same PAY SCALE, on the past and probably on the up coming MOU. It restricts the Co. from "Whipsawing" the pilot group by transferring flying to the cheaper contract. Something AOL never saw coming...
I guess your genius leadership missed this little caveat!!
By encouraging the Co. to keep the east on loa93, you have GIVEN away any prospect of growth and advancement on the west side...
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face..
I reiterate. If it wasn't because of the Min. Block hr. provisions of OUR TA, The PHX base would have shrunk to focus city status...Your welcome!!
Well lets see hummmm, would not all this be moot had you accepted what you asked for in arbitration?? Come'on who are you trying to fool here??? We would be working on our second contract now had it not been for the east refusing to honor the arbitration. Nice move however trying to lay than blame on the west but it was not us that refused to negotiate a contract oh no that was all east by and through Lee Seham and the great stall maneuver.

PHX may well indeed have shrunk but with your stalling you have kept that from happening for fear that west pilots would come in on top of you. See you all to talk fairness and keeping what you bring to the party but just what did you bring?? Let me enlighten you sonny, you brought a pilot group that was FURLOUGHED UP to 47% ! You brought millions of debt! Now all those furloughed are employed today at the expense of my brothers and sisters here at AWA. This could have been all over with minimum harm but you refused and imprisoned an entire pilot group then have the gall to beg for help from the very people with whom you inflicted harm. The general feeling here is that most would rather drink gasoline than to aid the east in anything. The comments I hear are let them rot under loa 93 and I cant say that I blame them. $124/hr for captains and $85 for f/o's ?? Pathetic BUT this is what you paid for.

Like I said only a fraction of east pilots are needed for this mou and anyone with 5 or less years on the property is going to vote for it. On the west side all that has to be said is that it would screw over usapa and its a sure passer here. Dont you just LOVE karma?

WD at AWA
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:31 AM
  #175  
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You guys better PRAY that this merger happens....If not Dave will check-out on the 76 before any of you get to sniff any movement..
The deeper the west entrenches, the stiffer the resolve grows on the east..
"Drink Gasoline"??? I'll buy YOU the first round....
I'm not "blaming" the west for anything......I am simply clarifying that your "Victim" status is self imposed...
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:39 AM
  #176  
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Originally Posted by LittleBoyBlew View Post
You guys better PRAY that this merger happens....If not Dave will check-out on the 76 before any of you get to sniff any movement..
The deeper the west entrenches, the stiffer the resolve grows on the east..
"Drink Gasoline"??? I'll buy YOU the first round....
I'm not "blaming" the west for anything......I am simply clarifying that your "Victim" status is self imposed...
This is true... Dave does not need saving anymore.
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:40 AM
  #177  
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Originally Posted by Wiskey Driver View Post
Like I said only a fraction of east pilots are needed for this mou and anyone with 5 or less years on the property is going to vote for it. On the west side all that has to be said is that it would screw over usapa and its a sure passer here. Dont you just LOVE karma?

WD at AWA
Be careful what YOU wish for....You might just get it!!
Your beloved Nic. will perish once and for ALL if this MOU is ratified..
But of course the AOL cult will tell YOU otherwise...
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:04 AM
  #178  
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Wiskey
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. We can second guess the "what if" all day. The fact is that we did what we did and not for greed, but because the NIC was so egregious - such a jagged pill that we could not swallow. There comes a time in a person’s life that they have to take a stand for what is right. I am senior enough that I have lost more than I can ever make up in the little time that I have left. I admit that I have struggled with the fact that my family has had to suffer even more because of my decision. I never thought that things would drag out this long but I understood, from the beginning, that this would not be resolved in a matter of months. Believe me when I say that I understand your point of view. As I said before, I was on the other side of the DOH coin when Piedmont merged with USAir. But over time I realized that, first, pilots do not manage the company. However, we sacrificed the most so that USAirways could live to see another day- and another merger. Secondly, even with all of its flaws, the present airline seniority system is the safest way to fly. However, no pilot should ever profit at the expense of another pilot. Mergers should not be looked at as a battle between pilots. I disagree vehemently with your- AWA saved US any more than US saved AWA- but either way,this was not a case of "to the victor go the spoils” and all pilots must work to change this mindset. All pilots are in this together. When damage is done to one of us, it is done to all of us. We never wanted anything that you have. We only wanted to keep what we earned. I hope that rather than beat this dead horse, yet another time, that we can try to work out way out of this mess.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:26 AM
  #179  
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Originally Posted by justjack View Post
Wiskey
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. We can second guess the "what if" all day. The fact is that we did what we did and not for greed, but because the NIC was so egregious - such a jagged pill that we could not swallow. There comes a time in a person’s life that they have to take a stand for what is right. I am senior enough that I have lost more than I can ever make up in the little time that I have left. I admit that I have struggled with the fact that my family has had to suffer even more because of my decision. I never thought that things would drag out this long but I understood, from the beginning, that this would not be resolved in a matter of months. Believe me when I say that I understand your point of view. As I said before, I was on the other side of the DOH coin when Piedmont merged with USAir. But over time I realized that, first, pilots do not manage the company. However, we sacrificed the most so that USAirways could live to see another day- and another merger. Secondly, even with all of its flaws, the present airline seniority system is the safest way to fly. However, no pilot should ever profit at the expense of another pilot. Mergers should not be looked at as a battle between pilots. I disagree vehemently with your- AWA saved US any more than US saved AWA- but either way,this was not a case of "to the victor go the spoils” and all pilots must work to change this mindset. All pilots are in this together. When damage is done to one of us, it is done to all of us. We never wanted anything that you have. We only wanted to keep what we earned. I hope that rather than beat this dead horse, yet another time, that we can try to work out way out of this mess.
So basically because you sacrificed at usair I have to pay your price here at awa? The sins of the father passed on to the son to pay that debt. I dont think so. The nic is NOT as you say egregious! Where you were on the list the day before the announcement is where you were the day after! The east feels since there was a merger that a land grab was in order. The east kills me with "its not fair its not fair" well you begged for arbitration and you got it! Then you go and ask and east pilot "ok what is fair"??? Well DOH is fair. I say to them "ok so DOH is in your mind fair where your most jr pilot goes from f/o res to mid level line holding captain"?? WOW that is fair I could I be so blind as to now see that the overall fairness in that? Talk about hitting the lottery oh my GOD, it cant get any better than that.

The award is safe and the companies 4 page letter to the NMB proves that but usapa has you so spell bound that you cant see it. Yup the east was successful in stalling the out the process but via Lee Seaham with whom you paid million and got nothing in return. In the end you will still be forced to honor that arbitration as not the APA nor the company will carry that water for you. Not to worry however because you will get a pay raise deserving or not. The award will be used in the SLI with APA and we all live be it happily ever after or not.

WD at AWA
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Old 01-09-2013, 08:11 AM
  #180  
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"He who lives for HOPE...will die of disappointment"...
WD you make it seem as if the US pilots were DIRECTLY responsible for the shortcomings of their Corporation. Pilots are married to their respective airlines. We operate Co. aircraft and provide safe transport for OUR customers We do not decide on business practices or capital expenditures..
You accuse the East pilots for choosing to work at US Airways, as if WE were directly responsible for the alleged demise of our airline...Therefore we should settle for a disparaging SLI that punishes those that have sacrificed so much in order to keep their airline afloat??
If in fact the Nic award is "FAIR", why has the west demanded its implementation at ALL COST??, while forfeiting a better cba and advancement possibilities.
Be honest with yourself and those that read these posts..Who brought the biggest POTENTIAL/ASSETS to this merger??
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