AxlF16

Only in a world full of unicorns and pixies. I'm not sure you've noticed, but EVERYTHING the CAL side has done is about improving their position and arguments re. the SLI process. This is NOT about one panel making a decision. This is about a greedy, shameless, and brazen pilot group who is waging war on me and my future career path. They have brazenly taken money from my pockets on at least 2 occasions, and now they are trying to take my career. Trust me, I know there is nothing I can do to affect the ISL, but I can, and will, pay attention to what is going on around me - and I will remember. And don't kid yourself Joe, the CAL pilot group is fully behind their leadership and merger committee - they are NOT innocent bystanders.

uaav8r

Yep, that would be me (hired Oct '97-never furloughed) Over 16 years on the property at United Airlines and these idiots want to put guys with only 2 years at CAL above me. You must be absolutely F..... kidding me! What a joke.

jsled

This is Houston's version of Operation Shock and Awe. I understand the strategy. Lowballing an offer and settling higher. But it seems to me, after reading the US Air/AmWest and DAL/NWA SLI awards, that extreme positions are rejected. Will Mr. Katz ever learn?


Brucia in 2007: Us Air furloughees should not have been stapled.

Brucia in 2013: Staple the furloughees AND over 1200 active UAL pilots that have NEVER been furloughed, and had 12-13 years longevity at MAD, behind ALL CAL pilots - even the CAL pilots who were on furlough at merger announcement.

Yeah, that will fly.....It's Longevity that is a covenant in the Alpa Merger Policy, not Hypocrisy.

Sled

Sunvox

Fair enough, certainly is an enormous amount of history in our industry to make us all pessimistic, but boy do I wish I could say I was leaving in 2!

Part of it for me is I think I have low expectations. If the furloughed pilots are stapled I will have relative seniority similar to what I have now, and worse things could happen, but on the other hand if the furloughed pilots are shockingly included (which seems more and more possible as the days and arguments are presented) then I would say I could get a relative seniority number that was close to what I had before the furlough, and that would be awesome. For me that's the difference between senior WB FO and NB Capt. Either way though I feel like the mega-mergers of the 21st century may finally have put the legacy carriers on a path towards stability long enough that I can finish my career without worrying about losing everything in the 11th hour. If they end up buying and flying 90 seaters and bleeding the regionals through attrition that would be icing on the cake. So with the retirments resuming, corporate profits staying positive, rule changes coming that make pilots harder to source, and a large base near my home; I'm feeling a little bit positive about my career choice for the first time in more than a decade. Sadly I just read somewhere that people who have a pessimistic view of their future live longer than those who had an optimistic outlook. No matter what I guess I lose

AxlF16

That is EXACTLY where you should be without this merger! Why would you expect anything less??? If you actually believe that UAL could've continued without replacing the narrowbody feed that we parked then I guess you could be right. IMO, we were going to replace that feed with mainline planes either through a merger (another airlines order book) or through our own order. We could've, and would've, gotten those airframes back. You should, and would, be a senior WB F/O or NB Capt -- just like you were prior to parking the guppies.

syd111

Trust me I realize they are not innocent bystanders.

Sunvox

Ahhh, I'm afraid outside independent sources would not be so quick to agree. They may be persuaded, but when I try to look at this with the most unbiased viewpoint I can muster, I see that what I take as gospel may not look that way to outside observers so I hope for the best, but try to temper my expectations.

AxlF16

No kidding...

I think your version of 'hope for the best' is WAY different than the CAL version. FWIW, Your previous post didn't appear very unbiased IMO. Maybe your desire to be objective and unbiased comes across to me as defeatist and conciliatory? They made first contact...now it's time to put down the feather pens and engage.

Olecal

You seem to ignore one major fact; UAL was mortgaging aircraft parts at 17.25% before the merger. The credit risk to UAL was 'CCC, they were not going to be able to order aircraft. The reason they were able to order after the merger was because they increased due to CAL's credit rating to a 'B'. 'B' is now investment grade, whereas 'CCC' is speculation grade. It's amazing that nobody here understands this. I certainly understand that you bring more widebodies to the mix, and I fully expect some credit to you for that, but no windfalls either way!

CCC: An obligor rated 'CCC' is currently vulnerable, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments.

Airhoss

Sept 97 hire here..

The CAL boys feel okay to STAPLE me!! I guess that's fair.