Oh oh. FtB is using critical thinking skills tonight :eek:

NewKnow;
Trust me I agree 100% At a min we will have two airlines that have no furloughs. (HA or AS) We recently hired and may do so again. HA is hiring and the latest vacancy bid at AS shows more furloughed pilot returning.

I know I want as much seniority as I could get with either one of them. I personally think that HA would be easier since they have the same spectrum of flying we do. AS would hurt if there were not very large fences.

Obviously not as big a deal, depending on how many displacements it produces. Anyway, it'll be interesting times when more big jets start moving around. There's still a lot of red/green angst on the north side that will create some fireworks if a new 744 or 330 base is established. It'll be a real "get your popcorn" moment. As long as I keep moving toward the "no more reserve" zone, I'll be okay with it.

Seems like there was something we could have gotten with our negotiations for the Compass/Mesaba flow-through, if we were thinking:

In event of a merger and acquisitions and constructive notice, Compass and Mesaba pilots who are to be brought up, shall be considered to have seniority numbers etc., etc.

Or, do we have that?

Nevermind. I'm putting too much thought into it. I guess the SWA/Air Tran merger has me thinking too much. :)

A new 747 base would actually generate very little training. A high percentage of Captains on the aircraft commute already. Most would simply commute to where ever the aircraft were based. For many it would mean it could mean a shorter commute. I bet the actual turnover on a rebase would be well under 20 percent. Guys in their last few years don't like to go to school. There would be more movement in the FO ranks but being a fenced aircraft I don't think it would be huge.

The company has never been shy about rebasing if they have the sim capacity. Much of the training department is a fixed cost. I think in the next 2 years you will see a 330 base in ATL. Look at the international terminal any afternoon and the answer comes clear.

Take heart everyone...just got the new logo if we merge with Alaska...








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Carl

Setting aside the issue of whether we are right to fixate on a next merger... why is it that several of you argue for fences? I view fences as a corrective mechanism to fix an imperfect SLI. If the SLI is done right, people get to move around the system, and use their seniority how they see fit. The pre-merger equities are mixed in so that the post-merger equities don't result in any windfall. If someone is fenced off, i.e. prevented from using their seniority, chances are it's because they were given too much seniority in the SLI, realtive to what they brought to the table.

Either way, I don't see how the Alaska pilots (for example) would need to be fenced off our equipment to protect us. In a relative ratio methodology, they presumably wouldn't be able to invade our categories. It's not really much of a base issue, since we have a lot of bases in common, in the half of the country where they're more likely to live. A fair relative ratio approach wouldn't put many of them in a position to bid WB equipment. So wouldn't it better to advocate for a fenceless, relative-ratio approach that would follow recent precedents, including our own?

HA! HA! Very nice Carl!! We need those planes to fly through HOU, MCO, BWI, LGA, MDW, DEN, PHX, BHM and wherever else SWA flies. :D

Maybe Sink. I know a lot of AS guys and where they commute from may surprise you. I mean that.

I would love to see something without fences, but the reality is that for them or us to maintain their same QOL, it would be quite an interesting ratio. It would work in a static environment. With No WB slots it makes it an interesting debate. As you extrapolate that out is where it gets interesting. I have some buds that have been there since 2001 and are about ready to upgrade. A 73N A that would be in the same position as a pilot hired in 1990 here at DAL.

I think you would be very wrong...... The green guys who have been chomping at the bit to fly the whale for years would jump all over that.