Big E 757

I don’t think he works here at Delta. I remember a time about 10-12 years ago when we all wanted the pay Southwest had, cause they hadn’t taken the pay cuts the rest of the industry had.

flyguy81

You do realize that SWA had the first AIP in this last contract cycle? Only after the road shows started did Delta magically come up with a AIP that bested SWAPA's negotiated rates. United had a convenient me-too that raised their rates in line with Delta. And AA's management was benevolent enough to give them a 8% raise to get them in line when they had no reason to. So I would hope that being first, that meant SWAPA set the bar for the big 3 to move across.

The big 3 all start negotiating next year if I'm not mistaken, with SWA in 2020. So I'm hoping this go around we're not first and can benefit from negotiated gains at other carriers...unlike being the guinea pig in 2015.

DWC CAP10 USAF

UAL has already started.
AAL starts Jan 2019
DAL starts in June.

Get Real

I like the theme of hope.

SWAPA went past its amendable date last time shortly AFTER the Delta, UAL and FedEx contract periods began for the contracts before the ones they are on now. Circa 2012ish

SWAPA skipped an entire contact cycle. (SWAPA’s and the other guys’.) SWAPA’s present contact is unofficially an 8 year deal. (Or maybe 9 if you consider the 2020 raise that’s (incredibly) scheduled to occur past its own amendable date)

SWAPA was a 2015-6 “guinea pig” only in the sense it clocked out the other guys last entire contact cycles (just in delays) before the ones they are on now. SWAPA keeps making guinea pigs out of their peers though.

The other thing is that the rates of pay differences are chump change compared to SWAPA’s vast array of other longstanding and substantial contract deficiencies.

One of the OAL’s contract comparisons had a slide last time all about SWAPA specific to this topic of how they basically skipped a contract cycle again. Sort of a “don’t be this guy” style slide.

Denny Crane

Uhhhh, you do realize your bar was set when the Delta pilots voted down the first tentative agreement!?! You were the first in the last contract cycle to vote yes, not the first to vote.....

Just sayin’......

Denny

DoubleTrouble

Not quite. FEDEX was the first in the series the summer fall of '15. Then TA1 and even though it was voted down, it still set the bar for the rates to come: UAL extension (From the UAL MEC: they took the TA1 rates and added a little), SWA voted down fall of '15, UPS contract in early summer '16, then SWA TA2 followed by DAL TA2 which caused SWAPA some concern due to DAL's new terms (SWA agreement#2 still passed).

Lewbronski

Pattern bargaining should be a given. We should all ratchet up the entire profession when it's our turn. However, when it's Southwest's turn, they often don't do much of anything to uphold their end of that deal for the profession.

About the best you can say is that they served as a sort of stop for the profession post-9/11. By default, they became industry-leading for a few years as the other airlines went into bankruptcy.

Thank you SWA for that but that's getting to be close to 20 years ago now. That's becoming sort of ancient history in an airline industry that has dramatically changed and consolidated since then. How many years are SWA pilots going to fall back on the idea that their management didn't furlough anyone after 9/11 as a sort of strange explanation for why they aren't helping to ratchet up the industry today?

Hillbilly

We (DAL) start in April. I think it’s like April 5th for the earliest date we can exchange openers. 270 days prior to the amendable date.

Klondike Bear

As a Delta guy I remember when SWA pilots voted down their AIP, after we voted ours down, it gave us tremendous leverage. Thank you Southwest pilots!