Wheels up

I'd vote to burn it down before I'd vote to work for pathetic AE compensation or give away more jobs to AE. If the company wants that, they can take it to bankrputcy and get it there. AA can hire exclusively from AE now. They don't and won't. It creates another training cycle and cost them money. Heck during the last hiring cycle they only hired a handful of flowthrus.

Again, an agreement like this benefits AE almost exclusively. Also the devil is in the details like flowback seniority. And I have no doubt that AE ALPA would not like the what the APA would demand in that respect.

Sorry, not practical, at least IMHO.

From the looks of Wall Street's reaction to the Obama give-away social engineering wealth distribution recovery plan, it's very possible that the economy is going to crash late this year along with lot of airlines, AMR included. I don't know what's going to come first, an economic crash, a strike, or AMR on the courthouse steps.

Sniper

There's a difference with APA that AE ALPA might have leverage on right there, no?

'We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.' - Ben Franklin

kumbaya . . .

Wheels up

The seniority issue is assuming that AA could be coerced/convinced to combine the companies. My point is that AE ALPA has zero practical leverage to influence AMR towards that end.

It all may become a moot point if the APA is forced into self-help sometime in the next year.

chignutsak

Says who? AMR? As soon as humanly possible they will put their "regional" needs up for bid. Just like the government. Lowest bid wins. Whoever the bottom feeder of the month is, with the aircraft mix that AMR wants, will win. They can dump some of the 20 year Eagle Captains ($$$$) and replace them with 20-something Riddle dudes. Eagle will probably not entirely go away, but just become a marginal player flying t-props around TX, FL, and the Caribbean.

eaglefly

You are correct.

All AE ALPA can do is sit on the sidelines and watch. AE ALPA isn't part of the negotiation equation and Eagle only exists as a source of cheaper labor. But that's the point. These aircraft will HAVE to flown by cheaper labor because the competition already does that.

Eagle will likely be the beneficiaries of some of that flying, but another carrier will reap as much or better and neither will have anything to do with it per se. Eagle flies hundreds of jets now and had NOTHING to do with that ! It will be the AA pilots (mostly junior) who are likely to take the biggest loss. Look at things so far.........THEY are the ones on furlough now and have paid the biggest price for the outsourcing of their flying.

Should the ultimate outcome resemble my views, then it seems you'll understand that Eagle pilots had nothing to do with it other then breathing air in the vacinity.

eaglefly

AMR will have nothing to do with any more intermixing of pilots of AA and feeders. It cost too much money and was a logistical pain in the arse.

If a "showdown" is going to happen (and it seems inevitable as I don't believe the APA is bluffing on their demands), then it's best for AMR to have ALL problems taken care of at once. They'll want to PERMANANTLY reshape the landscape and remove the chains that will rattle every 4 years for good.

Painful for a couple of years but the benefits would last decades. It's almost becoming a no brainer.

Be a good Eagle pilot, get your popcorn and watch the show. But enjoy that pocorn now, because WE will have our turn at watching outsourcing to the inevitable "other" feeder necessary to emasculate US in the future.

The only winner will be AMR.

eaglefly

Congrats.............it appears you understand the concept of time and timing. The variables above are unknown in whether they will occur and if so, in what order.

That's the "time" part..........AMR needs more of that.

The timing part, is dependant on those variables and the APA and yes, the courthouse steps will likely be the ultimate destination. AMR can learn from the past failures and mistakes of other airlines in BK (a nice luxury) and can clean up all fleet and labor issues in one fell swoop. The worse the economy, the more sympathy for AMR and political (and judicial) rationalization to grant the majority of their future plan.

eaglefly

Again true.

AE ALPA isn't part of the equation and will only be doing what they've always done........accept what's given to them for the benefit of others (AMR).

APA self-help is the trigger.....................AMR won't go one single week operating under "chaaos". If they need more time for the right "timing", they can delay that (at least a little while).

That is the only certainty out there.

eaglefly

What is the "lowest bid" ?

Is it the surface bid, or do other variables enter the equation like AMR control for the ability to manipulte profit/loss and tax issue.

The lowest surface bid by Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company may cost AMR more then Eagle and another carrier either spun off, or with a more adventageous agreement.

Eagle apparently DID have several suitors during its time in the "For Sale" window, but the details AMR wanted involved too much control for AMR and too little profit for a stand alone company.

That should tell you something.

Eagle isn't going to disappear and since seniority is an issue even in BK, it will likely be those junior who pay. In BK, it may not matter that Eagle has senior captains as pay scales could be readjusted to match the competition...........likely across the board, but it would be those senior who would be the hardest hit.

AA gear puller

This is all a lot of speculation but as of now the APA proposal on scope brings all flying back to AA. No more commuter exception period. That would force AA out of the small airplane business or operate them with AA pilots. Presumably these would be ex Eagle guys. I think APA is done farting around with scope. It's all or nothing as I see it. I know Lloyd Hill feels the same way.
I don't know whats going to happen but I think AA is underestimating the overall resolve of the pilot group this time.