MD80

Don't get it.

1. Didn't NWA/Delta buy Midwest to block AirTrans growth?

2. Didn't blocking AirTrans growth protect your jobs?

Is ALPA an association to better the pilot profession or just the jobs at the new Delta? AirTran, Jet Blue and other airline pilots better note the answer to this question.

johnso29

I don't know. Maybe you can ask the AirTran Pilots who voted to JOIN ALPA.

acl65pilot

Sir;
I feel you pain. You are part of my hometown airline. I love MEH. I hate what heppened to you. In hindsight it would have been better to be acquired by AAI. No one could have predicted what has transpired in our economy in the last two year. You guys have always been a first class opp.

Now, even though I feel you pain, as do many of my fellow DALPA brethren, there is little we can do to force the issue so to speak. May have stated issues with the RLA. They are correct. Furthermore, our contract states hat MEH is operated outside the scope of our issues. It basically is its separate entity. It also leaves our hands tied. Legally there is nothing we can do. Yes, it is a game of "What nut is the ball under." It does not take a rocket scientist to see that. If MEH actually transferred those jets to DAL, you would have a valid argument. We would too.
Fact is that they did not. Even if we got your 717's, which is another issue, they would have come from Boeing, which as you know is an airplane maker not an airline. Ergo there is no precedence for a court case to bring you guys over to our cert as we did with other airframe acquisitions. Furthermore, if and when you guys go out of business, we may with the Milwaukee Airport board have the "Right of First refusal" of the MKE gates. Even then there is nothing that we DALPA or ALPA can legally do under the current laws.

I am sorry, but it is what it is. Change the RLA and you will be able to have a better shot at what you are demanding. I wish that this never happened to you. I know my parents are not excited at the prospect of AAI being the hometown airline.

Hawaii50

Dude, just wanted to say I wish there was something we could do to help you guys out. What happened to you guys is the worst scenario possible for an ALPA carrier, in my opinion. Nobody here should be kicking fellow ALPA members while they're down. Best of luck to you guys.

sailingfun

One thing to mention. At the time NWA put money into the group taking control of Midwest to block airtran Delta was not in favor of that. In fact I heard Delta managers state they hoped the merger went through because it would give Airtran a outlet for the aircraft they had coming other then Atlanta and would stop yield depression in ATL. Even after the deal NWA has no operational control of Midwest. Its likely that had no one attempted a takeover of Midwest the situation would be the same today and management there would be doing the same things.

Superdad

Ok folks, one more time for the slow people:


PILOTS DON'T COMPETE FOR FLYING, MANAGEMENT COMPETES.

Don't blame me or any other Delta pilot for your current situation.

Carl Spackler

No. NWA did. Delta did not.

Could have been. My problem with you is what you wrote earlier:

You took a bullet for your incompetent management. The same way we did. There is/was nothing we could have done via Scope negotiations to protect you. Nothing.

It depends. How hard did YOU fight to make Midwest pilots the highest paid in the industry?

Carl

JungleBus

Good post, but in all fairness I'm fairly certain they are the highest-paid 88-seat-aircraft pilots in the industry. Which was management's excuse for shipping all their flying to RAH until the pilots consented to being paid like all the other 88-seat pilots out there, ie the regionals.

MD80

You seem to forget...

1. DALPA increased your 30% owership scope just for Midwest Airlines. Don't say it's all about management. Delta scope language is changing weekly. Deltas MEC has a voice at the table.

2. Do you really think NWA/Delta was going to let AirTran buy Midwest. NWA and Delta were in quiet talks before the Midwest purchase. Deltas CEO said, his first order of business after bankruptcy was to take on AirTran.

DALPA can not wipe their finger prints off the Midwest deal.

acl65pilot

Lets put it another way. We cannot do anything about the outcome of MEH. Per what is written in the JPWA it is a separate entity. What they means is that no matter how bad or wrong we think things are we cannot exert any pressure.