From ata smartbrief
Southwest Airlines has proposed an alternate plan regarding the integration of seniority lists for Southwest and AirTran Airways pilots as the two carriers continue to merge operations. If the pilots fail to reach a mutual agreement and turn down an initial proposal, Southwest may have to execute Plan B, which involves canceling a full integration of the two carriers, AirTran's union leaders told pilots in a presentation. "If we receive a 'no' vote, it means that we cannot execute the original integration plan and we will have to reset," Southwest spokesman Paul Flaningan said.
Air Travel Tips & Airline Industry News: Today in the Sky - USATODAY.com ... plan-for-airtran/552777/1
UPDATED: 2:28 p.m. ET
Southwest may have an "alternate plan" for AirTran if pilots at the latter vote against a deal to combine seniority lists with their Southwest counterparts.
That's according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where reporter Kelly Yamanouchi writes:
In an effort to encourage pilots to approve the deal, Southwest has raised the possibility of a Plan B: that AirTran may not fully integrate as planned into Southwest if the pilot proposal fails.
"If we receive a 'no' vote, it means that we cannot execute the original integration plan and we will have to reset," Southwest spokesman Paul Flaningan says in a written statement to the Journal-Constitution.
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Southwest raises possibility of alternate plan for AirTran merger
BLOOMBERG NEWS: Southwest considers stand-alone AirTran if pilot vote fails
The newspaper writes the prospect of a Plan B "came up shortly after AirTran's pilots union leadership voted against an initial deal … ."
In that situation, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly expressed disappointment that the tentative deal on seniority was never put to AirTran's union membership for a vote.
ALSO ONLINE: Kelly talks about AirTran seniority rejection (The Dallas Morning News; Aug. 22, 2011)
For now, Southwest says it's continuing to integrate AirTran's operations.
But things might look different if Southwest does eventually resort to the newly reported alternate plan.
ALSO ONLINE: Southwest Airlines photos
ALSO ONLINE: AirTran photos
In that scenario -- which at least one analyst suspects is a negotiating ploy -- Southwest would continue to operate subsidiary AirTran as a separate operation , a move that would still give it access to AirTran's fleet, Atlanta hub and its international routes
But the Journal-Constitution reports such a plan could also set the stage for a "slow dismantling" of AirTran, perhaps similar to how Southwest handled its acquisition of now-defunct Muse Air in the 1980s.
When asked specifically about that passage, Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin told Today in the Sky:
I know there has been a lot of speculation. It's natural, I guess, during a time when a potential agreement is introduced, people are reading their way through it, and making conclusions. The Muse Air acquisition was 30 years ago. It was an approach. Not the only approach. We believe Pilots today have a fair offer to consider and are optimistic they will approve it.
Bloomberg News also picks up on the story, writing "keeping AirTran flying on its own would run counter to the goal of folding the discount carrier into Southwest, the biggest low-fare airline."
"I''m sure that's not what management planned when they acquired AirTran," Hunter Keay, an analyst at Wolfe Trahan & Co. in New York, says to Bloomberg. "It probably is to some degree a negotiating tactic."
The Bloomberg report makes no mention any possible dismantling of AirTran. Referencing the same summary cited by the Journal-Constitution, Bloomberg quotes Southwest as saying simply "Plan B calls for AAI (AirTran) and SWA (Southwest) to remain separate and unintegrated."
As for the background of the AirTran pilots' seniority issue, the Journal-Constitution says some AirTran pilots believe going to arbitration could net them a better deal.
Others, however, appear to be frustrated -- as evidenced by a Tuesday move to recall three union leaders amid what the Journal-Constitution writes is "discontent over the union leadership decision to decline the first offer."
As for Southwest, spokeswoman Beth Harbin tells Bloomberg: "Our focus is going to be on getting the deal with the pilots done quickly because that really does set a good momentum for the rest of the integration."
Stay tuned ...
I know many of the Airtran pilots feel they have a lot to lose if they don't cave in to SWA's new offer. However many of them feel(as I strongly believe) now is the time to test McCaskill Bond as this case is exactly what it was written to prevent. SWA did not rescue anyone. Airtran was a very profitable airline before SWA appeared. I believe the courts would ram this down SWA throat(or up their ##!) if it came before them. They could come out much better on seniority. To break up or dissolve a perfectly good business model and add to current unemployment rolls would be totally unacceptable. Airtran pilots are under intense intimidation to vote for this new plan.