Ha…having lived through the ExpressJet/ASA marriage I can tell you that the company will be in as much of a hurry to finish a JCBA as they are now. They don’t have to do anything in a hurry.

 

I believe Delta’s pilot contract is amendable in Feb 2026 ( a year from now). If we do ink a deal it would be wise for us as a pilot group to wait for what Delta ALPA comes up with so we could atleast see what their next round of negotiations look like.

I think we could have a chance at finally being more in line with the rest of the industry for a contract cycle.

 

Yeah, I think one of my big things is to be back in line with the industry's cycle. Being dead last by a long shot isn't fun. That being said, my biggest thing is that I never want to see the company or ALPA propose rates from 2023 for our starting ones... No way I want to be making 2023 rates while everyone else is at their 2026 rates, especially with this inflation.

 

actually I disagree. They would not be able to merge them together until they had a JCBA. Operating NK and F9 separately is not what they want. They would need to get them merged asap to begin the recovery and increase the competitiveness of the ulcc model.

 

And to add the last time they wanted to merger they wanted the process to be done in 6 months.

 

I think a merger is likely to actually speed up the contract. And that's really only because they are going to do absolutely everything in their power to delay this contract as much as possible. And the RLA gives them immense power to do just that.

Regarding the contract cycle, it's a really tough spot we find ourselves in. We are badly out of cycle being dead last and way behind (again). We are so far behind I can see why someone would just say wait and see what the next round brings. We are almost at that point but I suspect the next Delta and Alaska contracts will take a few years and likely be in 2028 or 2029. I don't think we want to wait that long! So we are likely to forever be stuck at the end of the cycle and not fall back to the industries next cycle.

Just keep paying down debt and throwing money at your 401k.

 

The Market rate adjustment provision in the proposal deals with these issues. Basically right now our proposed rates/slope is going up with the average of everyone else’s rates. It’s higher of a rate table (2024, 25, and 26) or average rates. It’s a bit lengthy to post but a good read.
probably one of the most if not most important provisions to capture.

 

well can’t we just finish our current negotiations before starting the joint contract? If they want it done fast, then staying the course and not letting them merge until we finalize getting some gains and then work on getting the joint contract with more gains.

 

In my typical anal fashion, I agree, and disagree with the above eposts.

After a merger, they will want to finish the contact.

Yes.

After a merger.

Hitting the chrono today, I expect this merger to take 6-12 months to be approved, and completed, THEN a contact.

So total time from today I expect a contract in mid-2026 or later

 

Would there be a retro check if we went directly to a JCBA? Or does that get conviently glossed over?