Originally Posted by WHACKMASTER

Nice try Oscar, but I will not post generic or specific expectations on a public forum. Not really a good negotiating strategy. How about I tell you that I expect to from XX% to XX% in a fair and equitable fashion.

Also, nice try on the identity thing. Allow me to share with the rest of our viewers what happened to a couple of our guys on the Flight Info board. They were rather outspoken about the insane expectations of SWAPA and it's pilots. Well, one or more of your coworkers were ingenious enough to find out these said individual's identities. Subsequently, they started receiving hate mail from your pilots naming them by name and threatening them about how they were going to be treated once on property. So naturally I will therefore refrain from providing your camp with anymore about information about my identity other than to perhaps say that my screename has nothing to do with masturbation.

Originally Posted by ClipperJet

Key words: "At this income level." I think after 4 or 5 months with a $5000 a month payraise, the AirTran folks will start saying to themselves, "Hey, this place ain't so bad afterall..."

Originally Posted by 1Seat 1Engine

I'd buy anyone a beer! Even WM...unless he ends up senior to me then I'd let him buy me a beer!

Life is short, beer is cheap.

Originally Posted by Boogie Nights

You might as well ask.....
Had SWA not bought AT, how many AT guys would have put apps in at SWA when they opened the window?

I consider that irrelevant at this point. Anger does not change the facts or move us forward. The parties on both sides can only decide what is best for themselves and vote if it comes to it.

I know most folks on both sides will move forward after this is done. You can fight for your side till the battle is lost and then move on, or spend your life unhappy.

Staying angry does'nt help. Me I want to work at SWA. I will do a good job. That said I will need to read all proposals talk with friends and both sides and decide what is best for myself, my family and lastly my fellow pilots at AT.

I have 2 wishes at this point. I want information from my union leadership as to what the proposal is, and if we SWAPA AND AT pass this to move on. The sooner we become productive, sooner we kick a$$ and grow as a airline, the sooner companies and my situation will improve.

If we don't pass this....

Pilots love being in control. I hate most of all, in this process, the feeling I have no control ( this is do to a lack of info, rumors and conjecture) I would like facts. If I end up on the street that in itself would suck but it would give me back a measure of control in my life.

Maybe it would have been better if late Sept last year SWA leadership had just told us what the deal would be, and we could have all decided what we wanted to do and have moved on each to his own conscience.

Each side is doing the best it can, at this point, for its own group.
AT folks have to decide if they want to grab the bull by the horns.
SWAPA is fortunate to have leadership to defend their position, probably why most AT folks celebrate when news broke we were being bought; we wanted good leadership rather than management

Can we at least agree to move forward after this done? Complaining about what could have been wont help. Keeping the planes moving will help.

However this turns out good luck to all on all sides. Vote informed and not out of fear.

B-

P.S Oscar I appreciate your calmness.

Originally Posted by Boogie Nights

Se there is hope for a combined culture if we can resolve things over a beer.

Then again didn't Obama try to do that?

Originally Posted by sailingfun

Having been through 2 mergers where the airlines purchased got far great raises then the Airtran pilots will see I can tell you that this is not a true statement. In fact the opposite seems to occur. When Delta bought Western Airlines a Western DC10 Captain made 80,000 a year. At Delta a L1011 Captain was making 160,000 yet it had no effect on the seniority issue.
I was not around for the NorthEast merger yet I flew with NE pilots who did everything possible to waste money and hinder the operation because of their feelings about the merger 20 years earlier. Don't bet on money smoothing out a forced seniority list.

Originally Posted by OscartheGrouch

Nice post Boogie! Listening to the extremes makes it difficult to stay calm though.

I will tell you that my conspiracy radar says that things were going well until the mistress (national ALPA) came back into town. Whispering things like "you don't want to marry her (SWA)." "You know I am the best you ever had" and "you can do better than her." Never trust a scorned woman (or man) especially when they tried to date your future spouse. Conspiracy rant over.

The Oscar

Originally Posted by sailingfun

When Delta bought Western Airlines a Western DC10 Captain made 80,000 a year. At Delta a L1011 Captain was making 160,000 yet it had no effect on the seniority issue.

Originally Posted by ClipperJet

Were the Western DC10 captains making $160k right after the integration, or did they keep their same pay?