Air Cal was acquired by AA (in '86), and their seniority list was merged fairly, and even 34 Air Cal pilots furloughed got recalled. But, it was a large major air carrier buying a small interstate carrier. Not the same situation here by a longshot.

Putting an active West pilot ahead of a furloughed East pilot, what were they thinking? If you have ever been furloughed for a lenthy period you'll understand how wrong a concept it is. If you have not then you probably won't understand the viewpoint that it is wrong wrong wrong to have that happen.

Before anyone jumps on it, I do understand the concept of "career expectations". That will still never justify what happened with the arbitrator's award.

So you'd furlough the west guys and call it fair eh?

That was never the proposal. But when that guy with over 14 years experience on the property returns, he doesn't go below a 2005 new-hire. That totally abrogates and marginalizes years of experience and sends the wrong message to everyone. I don't see why that is soooo hard for you to understand.

If I were a CEO and reading post like 1-seat's, I'd have my company send furlough letters to my entire pilot force, furlough said force, cut a deal with an upstart, and announce the merger the next day. I'd reduce labor cost by 40% slotting a guy with 16 years experience under a new-hire. What the hell, a new-hire can do the job just as good and at a third the pay anyway. And we know ALPA won't do a thing about it because pilots are greedy and don't care about anything that they think doesn't affect them personally. I'd set an industry precedent courtesy of guys who think it can't happen to them:D.

If that's the impression you get from my posts, I suggest you stick to being a pilot because you'd never make it as a CEO.

Let me relay a little story: Just last weekend I was on a trip and we're loading the airplane with the cockpit door open. There's a baby crying bloody murder throughout the boarding process and out of no where a pilot in the jumpseat (who flies for a different carrier) says,"will somebody please shut that US Air pilot up".

Not my joke. My point is that among many pilots in the community there is little sympathy for the "burn down the company" attitude.

Had Said-Furloughed-Guy EVER come back at US Air without a merger he would have been at the bottom and stayed there for a LONG time. The day prior to reading about the proposed merger in the paper, what were his realistic expectations?

That's not just how I see it. Don't talk like I'm the last guy in the world to see this differently than you. Outside of the internet, I don't know a single professional aviator who agrees with you.

Joke? The fact that you think that's a joke reiterates my point. It seems that your problem is with US Air pilots, for a guy with no stated attachment to them, that could only mean 1 thing. Have the guys on this board not conveyed to you that your opinion is your opinion. Seems about 50/50 to me, reference the the aforementioned. Yes! Some things do need burning down! The Nicholau award and US Airways are two of them if pilot experience is to recoup any of it's previous value. If you didn't learn that from flying the line, you should have picked it up in some of your military studies. It's like talking to a brick. Like you don't even read these post. 1seat is paradigm too huh?

Again with your crystal ball. How do you know how any of us will pan out?

This board probably has the most diverse group of Major airline pilots in existence. The fact that you believe your opinion sans APC is the conventional wisdom de jour means you've probably spent too much piddle-pack time alone. You have every right to your opinions, and a significant number of this group agrees with you. State your own facts, not assumptions, and stop leaning on "everybody feels just like me". It should be apparent that that is not the case. Re-read this thread or seek help from different flight-surgeon.