[QUOTE=

Cutting pilot costs "is the only way Republic's Frontier survives," he said Friday, noting that Republic is in the process of switching out bigger planes for smaller ones with Midwest Airlines, the Milwaukee-based carrier that Republic officially bought July 31.

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Interesting read. This paragraph jumped out at me, and would seriously concern me if I were an F9 guy.

I have heard because the Republic/Frontier transaction hasn't completed, that Frontier's pilots/company can sign any new contract, and that this was already ready to go. That this new contract effectively protects the pilots the same way the 51% ownership by someone else not requiring integration.

Rest assured if this is in fact truth, Republic will be burnt to the ground. However, it will be interesting to see as RAH's CBA should superseed any TA concerning integration once the purchase is complete. I wouldn't be a bit suprised if the Reverend and The Devil gave lip service to F9 with a TA they knew wouldn't stand up just to entice the F9 guys/gals enough to close the deal. Remember, RAH needed F9 to make the YX deal an easier pill to swallow.<---- My opinion.

Joker

Set back and watch... You guys actually think Pilots are going to make what Southwest does in the future? There is a whole crowd of folks flying up to 100 seaters for peanuts. It is just an airplane...

Be mad and make comments about the career we picked. It will make the stories of "shared" van rides to the hotel better. Right now it is almost laughable how folks took the last couple months so personally. Point at whoever ya want...It is just the trade we are in.

That should spark this conversation up a notch..

Consider the source. This is the same guy who said SWA would never attempty to buy a carrier that doen't fly 737's. Then when SWA tried, he said they are all but guarenteed to win the auction, etc. These analysists are clueless and wrong all the time. His little payscale isn't even accurate. According to him, it all about pilot pay? No, it's ablout block hour cost. If I understand him right, he suggests flying a plane with 36 less seats to save $50/hour on crew costs? Give up all that revenue to save $50 bucks? Oh well, I'm sure I'm wrong...I just don't understand anything anymore.

Let's recap:

SWA thinks that F9 is worth $.12 and sees the peril of the "deal" and withdraws in a timely fashion, so RAH "wins" the auction for a little more than $.18 on the dollar.

For the folks needing a visual image: The F9 guys are floating in the ocean about to be drowned or eaten by hungry but small sharks. WN pulls up in a cruise ship and throws them a lifeline to pull F9 aboard. After grabbing hold of the line F9 demands to know what class of cabin they will get, once aboard the elegant ship. Totally taken aback, WN lets go of their end of the line, bidding F9 good luck in their plight. WN sets a circular course for their intended destination, DEN, ensuring that they will likely run over who ever picks up F9 in the process.

All SWA has to do now, is keep doing what they do best, and just sit back and watch the train wreck in DEN. After the carnage, they may be able to buy the remains of F9's carcass for $.12 of "the 18 cent dollar" or roughly just over $0.02 on the orgional "dollar" value. Only real question is just how long it might take. Looks and smells like whipsawing, and SWA has the saw this time.

Best of luck to RAH, I pity the company that intentionally pits itself head-to-head against SWA.

Remember, "It's not personal, it's just bid-ness."

Sabre

Grreat analogy! SWA a luxury cruise ship?
The only problem with it is the cruise ship has a hole in it below the water line and is taking on water. SWA IS LOSING MONEY IN DEN,
The ultimate cost may be far more than $.18/share.

Also for the SWA pilots who are so happy the deal fell apart, it is back to no growth and a reduction in ASM's. The Frontier deal was an avenue for growth. They need to look past their shadow and see the big picture. They may have won the battle but the war will have a far greater cost.

Republic & Friends has been on quite a streak for the last 10 years.

Some may think they are in over their heads, but I would imagine most of that is wishful thinking.

Aside from the potential labor train-wreck I am very curious to see what these guys have up their sleeves...they don't seem to be idiots.

Personally I don't think they'll be going anywhere for awhile and I don't see an "easy win" for SWA anywhere on the horizon.

Lucky for Southwest I don't think their management team is riding the same "high horse" that others in the company are on.

Since this is airlinepilotcentral and not myairlineisbetterthanyourscentral I advise everyone to take a step back and look at WN's history of 'pilot integration', i.e. Morris, MuseAir/TranStar.

If you fly for SWA and are berating F9 guys for not cowtowing to your demands then maybe you should step back and realize you drive jets for a living, not manage labor. Now get back to hustling the busriders around the country.

Edit: I like WN and fly them often (thus making me a busrider), I just would like WN pilots to respect another pilot group's decision to do what they think is in their own best interests.

Ummm...So.....SWA puts in an offer that Menke and judge Drain would by all souces account dismiss due to the time constraints and performance demands drawn into it as well as eliminate some 5000 jobs and you think the fact that a staple for about 200 senior pilots did this deal in? So for 200 pilots, most of whom will be retiring in the next 8 years you cite this ridiculous analogy. Dude! Now all jobs are preserved, F9 emerges from bankruptcy, and life goes on. "It's not personal, it's just bid-ness".. damn straight. SWA better figure it out quick. I won't speculate much on their future because I'm not psychic, but the fact that a small 50 airplane operator in Denver with only about 200 departures a day is causing this much of an uproar for a behemoth like SW is disturbing. For an airline SW's size to be so concerned about the smallest fish in the ocean is downright telling to me of their future. My best guess...UA will be fine, F9 will be fine, and even SW will be fine although they may be undergoing some necessary changes to try to start making some consistent profits again.