HireAstarPilots

So...now what about the seniority lists? How are these going to get combined?

-Many thousands of people are about to get screwed. And then there are the 1437 furloughed United pilots, who are about to get it twice. Without lube~

johnso29

Both pilot groups are ALPA carriers so the SLI will be subject to that.

acl65pilot

Unless the two MEC agree to a different process.

They have a long road ahead of them. I personally wish them well and pray they 1) Keep it civil, and 2) create a great airline that gives them bar none a industry leading contract.

Fishfreighter

Yep. In accordance with Bond-McCaskill the lists will be merged using the ALPA merger/frag policy. That policy DOES NOT include DoH. So that "argument" should be DoA.

contrail67

I would caution you on how much you "predict" anything with this.
And what is an AstarPilot?

FLYLOW22

See "US AIRWAYS" for more info.

SUPERfluf

If the combined pilot groups stick together and hold management's feet to the fire a good bit of those on furlough can be recalled soon.

I seriously doubt CAL will change the staffing plans they have set in motion for the next system bid (they barely plan for tomorrow, nevermind next year).
CAL has put off recalls 'till the fall and we need them now. (they were purely JV negotiation hostages and we needed them the day they left.) Only 4 retirements are included in the current staffing plan and we have lost more than that this year already. I doubt there will be a mass exodus, but certainly some will head for the door on the next bid (August).
In addition they will start to staff for 787 deliveries on that bid. Even if certification is delayed 'till early next year it won't have a measurable effect on our deliveries in 3Q 2011 as Boeing is building the aircraft while certification is proceeding. They expect to have over 20 built and ready to go by the end of the year when the certification is planned to be complete. So even if certification is delayed they will still be assembling aircraft and a bunch will all be delivered in mass.
CAL only expects 70 or so of the 147 on furlough to return so they are planning on hiring in addition to the recalls in order to staff for next year.

There has got to be a reasonable way to bring in UAL furloughed pilots to fill those positions?
Possibly they could come to CAL as temporary "newhires" yet keep their UAL seniority number or whatever it will be on the combined list and then when both airlines operations are merged and the combined SLI takes over, they get to bid according to their UAL seniority. Just a thought.

Certainly there are selfish hotheads at each carrier who think they deserve some sort of seniority windfall but from what I've seen the majority are looking at this reasonably and I believe cooler heads will prevail.

With an improved JCBA the staffing needs for CAL's side of the fleet can only increase. If we do this right we can get ALL the furloughs back to work with better pay and working conditions than when they left.

DAL73n

The two MECs should look closely at the DAL/NWA list because I would suspect if it goes to arbitration that they would use that as model. I can't imagine (there have been miracles) that there would be a negotiated list. I encourage our brothers at CAL/UA to get as much out of this merger as they can without turning into a USAIR debacle. Good luck - you have a long road ahead.

SUPERfluf

I know our guys have been studying it closely and sat in on some of the negotiations between DAL & NWA in addition to acting as pilot neutrals in arbitration, I would hazard to guess that the UAL merger committee was there too.

SoCalGuy

I would very hope much the same.

Yes, a relatively "long road" could be cited.....but honestly, I don't see it as being any more insurmountable in disparity from that of DELTA's road to a joint SLI.

It's been close to 2 yrs since Round 1 of Merger Mania since DAL/NWA's marriage took place. Since that time, there has been almost 2 year of 'courting' by way of 'enhanced alliance' between the two carriers (CAL/UAL). During that time, I'm sure the Merger Committees from CAL/UAL have 'spoken once or twice' over the last two years.....officially/or unofficially. Have they solved a solid SLI behind closed doors?? Chances not. However, I would venture to bet that some head way of 'what if' puliminary talks have been had while both MEC's using the luxury of 'time' in doing so over the last two years since the NEW DAL was formed.

Just a guess....both sides/MEC's have not been sitting on their thumbs up to tomorrow's official "pomp-n-circumstance".....Just say'in.