Interesting news about the financial report.

 

Here's the truth. Most people as individuals are fine. The true test is how they act in a group situation. I have had East pilots on my jumpseat and I have been on theirs. As long as you keep it nonpolitical it is fine. I do not pretend to understand their thinking and I know I will not persuade them to change. I have found that most do not have the full facts of everything that has transpired since the merger. Very few East pilots ever read the Arbitration transcripts like we did. Heck, we had our guys debating stuff every night. Same with all the subsequent litigation. We have a very savvy group of pilots, some with law degrees and they work hard in educating the West pilot group.

Parker seems to be hated by every East pilot I have talked to. All I say to them is that this has been "just business". His job is to maximize revenue for the company. Our job as pilots is to fly the airplanes and make our case for higher pay and better terms as a business case of our own. So far USAPA has not been anywhere close to doing that. By acting childish they have actually killed any chance of the company taking them seriously. It will take another change of unions to recharge our negotiations. In the meantime it is good for us to be working for a profitable company. That way sometime in the future we can actually say "FUPMe" and mean it.

 

So how many east pilots and how many west pilots now active after 6 years later?
MC

 

Those numbers haven't changed much at all, thanks to the Age 65 rule. Somewhere around 3200 East and 1800 West, give or take. If somebody knows more exact numbers, please pipe up.

Active numbers are a bit different ... there are lots of people on various leaves, and we have 50-some still furloughed in the West ... those guys have been offered recall to the East, but have declined it for a number of reasons (many of which have nothing to do with East/West politics).

 

An american merger will bring both groups together.

East & West have no choice... once again, majority would rule.

 

Been flying since 1966. In the industry since 1979. For those of you more recent, the above pilot characteristic hasn't changed one iota.

With the exception of aircraft ops, as pilots, we are truly AFU in the problem-solving/personal responsibility area.