Agreed. XJT/ASA will have more CR7s come on property as the older CRJ/ERJs are retired. The newer 50 seaters (E145XRs) will be around for a while however.

 

I hope not. I rather see them go to UAL.

 

Lets be honest about where the frustration is coming from here. I know a scapegoat makes things easier, so if (the collective) you want to keep that mindset, then by all means, but this situation is much more complex than SkyWest=Evil and XJT=a martyr. The CAL/XJT relationship was so full of bad blood that CAL would have given your flying to a higher bidder rather than let you keep it. Tell me how, since our 50 seat rates are so close, you operate at a loss flying for CAL on the contract that we supposedly offered them? Honestly, because I think your management underbid SkyWest to keep those 145s going for CAL, which given their options was probably the smartest way to proceed.

You're all frustrated, I get that, but Jerry Atkin isn't to blame. He's a pawn in a much larger scheme called capitalism, or corporatism if you will, the rules of which favor economies of scale and not allowing weak companies to control valuable resources or market share (the CAL flying). And if you think that SkyWest pilots are some how complicit, then you're really off your rocker. We all made our bets when we chose a regional and some pan out better than others. I could be a Captain if I'd gone elsewhere but I recognize that hindsight is 20/20 and have made peace with my extended stay in the right seat.

If you really want somebody to blame, ask your former CEO what grudge he couldn't bury with old Larry Kellner that caused the relationship to sour to the point where CAL would rather cut off their nose (XJT) to spite their face (their own bottomline).

 

The frustration is that JA is purposely trying to trample our contract. The fact that he uses SKW pilots to whipsaw doesn't help. Its a fact that the CAL COO told the XJT CEO to give CAL a CPA as good as what SKW offered or get 12 months notice. The CPA SKW negotiated took into account 16% pay cuts to bring us down to parity with SKW pilots compensation. That is how we operate at a loss with the same CPA SKW negotiated with CAL. Why do you think that BR said on the call that the new CPA has the same rates XJT has now? Because those were SKW's rates from two years ago! CAL could have easily given XJT 12 months notice regardless of whatever rates you think XJT underbid. Now they are stuck with us for 5 more years.

I understand that is all business and I wouldn't have a problem with any of it if JA would just simply honor our contract. His antics decimated us fine, but don't come back and try to screw us again by setting up some sham holding company just so that he can continue whipsawing us.

 

What I'm trying to say, hopefully a bit less aggressively this time, is that there was more to CAL wanting to give XJTs flying to someone else than JA showing up and offering to do it for less. Furthermore, I don't recall your pay package being 16% higher than SkyWest's. Maybe we're all just urinating in the wind here, but if we play the blame game, nobody except management wins.

 

CAL wants XJT absorbed/merged/sold off because it removes the threat of an XJT bankruptcy from gumming up CAL's books as they head into the United merger. If XJT goes into bankruptcy (or there is even a possibilty of bankruptcy by remaining independent and losing money), most of XJT's debt becomes CAL's debt which would become United's debt. Taking care of this "XJT debt problem" may even be a requirement by the banks funding the United deal. If everyone can't make nice and make this work, CAL will not be happy at all. United will not be happy at all. JA will be the most not happy at all because he could not deliver what CAL/United expect him to. JA isn't some all powerful business genius like some make him out to be. He knows he has to deliver this deal to stay welcome at the new United. He will bend whichever way he has to just enough to get this done. XJT pilots will bend some too. But we will not be bent over.

 

He's not a party to your contract, so he has no moral, legal, or practical obligation to honor your contract.

I think you will find that once he does become party to a contract he will honor it to the letter and to the intent. Ask the ASA guys, I think their contract works just fine.

Actually Jerry isn't too involved any more, it's Chip you have to worry about. He might not be as scrupulous as Jerry about the intent, but he's a hell of a lot better than JO or Tilton...

One thing about INC...while many airline managers just want to milk their operations for every short-term nickel they can grab, destroying the company in the process, INC wants to run a business which is sustainable in the long run. They know this means reasonable employee relations, positive work atmosphere, and livable compensation.

 

he may not have been a party to it but acquiring the company also makes him a party to it with all of its provisions. he should be expecting to iron out these issues going forward

 

Since I am not privy to all of this I thank you for this post - very insightful.

 

Well, that sure explains the glorious plan they had LAST time had the buyout gone through . Getting rid of everybody, THEN being so generous as to offer interviews to the XJT people.