Plus the fleet wouldn't be that big, the majority of 50 seaters probably wouldn't make it and would be parked until oil fell back to below $40-$50bb.

Anotherwords, you'd see a net reduction in jobs.

Unless you started replacing 50 seaters with 50 seat TPs.

Air Canada pilots fly the E175 and up.

That's a good point.

But Jazz pilots fly the CRJ900. Stupid, huh?

You miss the point but got one right, your not entitled to you job either at my expense, I agree the contracts can go away and they might; however, its not gona happen during this merger between CAL/UAL...With our merger with Skywest/ASA/XJT that makes 7000 pilots the fourth larget group within ALPA (less skywest not union) now i'm not a finger pointer but ALPA is not gona give that money up to protect anyones job...its about money and you and I can only go along for the ride...lawsuit, not from me it would be from the RJ operators, there not giving up without a fight, more then likely with the new regs. coming down the legacys will have to purchase the RJ operators just to fill the cockpit seats, but thats just me rambling....lookout things are a changing and it aint gona be easy on anyone...

You're mis-informed, Skywest will not be part of an asa/xjt merger. It has been agreed upon by managment and the xjt mec.

Would have been to messy, as someone said, its like trying to force your wife to have sex, rarely works out very well. Rumor is that JA agreed that any other ALPA carriers that get bought get merged, can't wait to see that scope language, just a rumor.

I am guessing JA told them he wants to get this deal done asap because he has a limited opportunity to purchase Comair, which will give him 80% of the Delta flying to go along with the new United flying. He has a ton of cash on hand (1 billion) so it is going to be hard for him to not agree to a very progressive contract to the new ASA now that ALPA played nice. Even Prater went to his temple and shook hands, would have loverd to see that handshake. We then get the ALPA Comair on our list when he buys it. And if he can't pay for it he will just throw the rest of SKYWEST healthcare out and trash their work rules to pay for it. Just a rumor.

Not sure I understand. You don't believe Continental is entitled to end the contract, per the contract, and fly a 737 in replacement of XJT's ERJ-145s?

Wouldn't all of that flying now be under ALPA's direction if it went to U/CAL? That'd be 519 aircraft or about 4,000 pilots now all paying ALPA dues with U/CAL in total control with no scope limits, no funding someone elses profits, no funding future competition and so on.

I mean if you're not going to have a whipsaw then the cost advantage is gone which means more opportunity for people who want to go to a mainline carrier then there is now.

Or worse, what's to stop airlines from funding a new Part 121 carrier, Commutair or reformed MESA, to start flying larger aircraft and restart the whipsaw? Get it in house, its better for everyone but the lifers who are going to ruin it for a lot of people.

No, I've been watching the slide for the last 10 years, so I fully have the point. UAL was 10,500 pilots big, and now we are 6,300. We were the highest dues paying pilot group in ALPA, and ALPA national did what to stop the carnage? Nothing, and this is how most of the 7000 guys/gals at Skywest Group got their jobs.

Lawsuits can be filed all day long by the RJ operators, but at the end of the day, they operate within their contract at the whim of their mainline parent's management. When the contract expires, if UAL doesn't renew the deal due to scope issues negotiated with the UAL/CAL pilots, there isn't anything to sue about! It's totally legal.

Look, I know how it feels to have your job threatened. I've lived this way every day for a over a decade since the wheels came off in 2000, watching friends get furloughed (twice), wondering if we are going to cease to exist, all the while watching more and more RJ's in our colors come in and take over flying that we used to do. I'm a former commuter guy, so I know the drill. During this time its been mega expansion, quick upgrades, and bigger and better equipment for regional pilots....good news for the percentage that want to have a career there. Pretending that ALPA is going to somehow step in and make a change one way or another is something I wouldn't hold my breath on. For individual airlines, ALPA is that pilot group, and they will look out for their own self interests. ALPA National won't factor into this decision.

Now, what will happen? Who knows. I've got my own guess, but at our MEC's request, I don't talk about it in public. I do know that the first section that I'll be turning to in the eventual TA is going to be Scope.

Of course I'm not entitled to my job! But for the first time in a VERY long time, I see an opportunity to take back some of the painful, horrific, life-changing losses we've endured. I'm pretty confident the 11000 pilots of CAL/UAL all pretty much feel the same way. Good luck to us all.

jetBlue successfully flies the E190 at $143 an hour (plus overtime) for a 12 year Captain. We can start the discussion there and work backwards to the smaller airframes.

The proposal had the regional flying phased out over time. It wasn't a flip the switch type of deal.