A movie is never as funny when I have to explain to my wife. That said, I guess I need to be the clueless one. Can you please explain how a passed UAL TA helps our cause? Is it just because our proposed TA2 would be just slightly higher than the UAL TA and therefore easier to argue at arbitration?

They don't give up any profit sharing...and only grant minor relief on a couple of issues

Exaxtly. Our profit sharing is now off the table as well as all concessions from the failed TA.

We need a minimum of 19% 1/1/16 just to match UAL A 330 and 767-400.

And matching is not good enough to pass MEMRAT.

I agree on both counts.

Small point. It's mediation. We never do arbotration. Arbitration is binding.

Sounds like a pretty huge point :). I know the difference between the two but didn't know that we'd only mediate. I assume the reason behind this would be overly company-friendly arbitrators would not give us a fair shake?

Just think if you got a dollar each time you posted that clarification...

I would prefer the UAL TA does not pass. The entire mediation process is geared to driving the solution to industry average. Overall if you applied the United TA rates to our fleet the rates are lower then our rejected TA. We can talk all day about the 330 rate but if you look at the other rates it's not good!
UAL 767-254
Delta TA1 260

UAL 757-245
Delta TA1 260

UAL 737-235
Delta TA1 250

UAL A320-245 A319-235
Delta TA1 241

These should be sobering numbers. Delta management would jump at these payrates. I would prefer UAL to go back to the table!

Yes we have crazy pay banding and I see what you're doing, that is an entirely different topic, but at least show both sides of our TA rates with 0 profit sharing giveback. These are DOS rates.

767-400 - 305.49

757-300. - 254.70

737-800/900 - 245.80 (about 85% of our Guppies are 800/900)

Just keeping it apples to apples.

Big difference is they didn't swap any profit sharing to get those pay rates are the other concessionary things in the TA1 nobody wanted to give. If you subtract out the 6% percent profit sharing conversion UAL comes out ahead on most fleets. Plus we didn't give up the precedent of giving up profit sharing to get pay raises.