AANOTOK
Veteran
- Oct 10, 2009
- 4,627
- 2,242
Pissed off line mechanics will do whatever they can to help the pilots.
Will they?
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Pissed off line mechanics will do whatever they can to help the pilots.
I have discussed it multiple times before but there is no more basis for saying that AA-US merger has any less antitrust issues than an AA-DL or AA-B6. The simple fact is that AA is large enough that it will create antitrust issues regardless of the merger partner chosen - outside of perhaps F9 or AS or a partner in a region where AA has more strength.
If you as AA pilots want to throw yourselves behind an offer than MIGHT move you somewhat up the food chain but substantially less than DL, UA, or WN pilots make, then I don't want to hear any more whining about your pay.
You continue to approach the possibility of an AA-US merger on the basis of your doubts of AA mgmt - not on the basis of how to get the very best contract possible.
If you think that the supposed revenue synergies will be sufficient to raise the salaries of AA and US salaries to the levels that Parker promises without massive layoffs, you are sorely in for a rude awakening.
Finally, if you think that DL, UA, and WN and NK and B6 and VA are going to sit by on the sidelines and allow the merger to proceed, you truly have no concept of the competitive nature of the airline industry.
In case you have missed it, the competitive assaults on AA are at industry high levels. I have never seen as much competitive energy focused on attacking AA and US' key revenue - and neither are fighting back anywhere close to what is necessary to keep those competitors at bay. In absolutely dozens of markets across AA and US' system, w/ the largest focus on AA right now, competitors are seriously eroding AA's revenue generating capacity and they will only step up their attempts while AA and US try to figure out how to pull off a merger - which could take years to figure out.
I don't know how much longer you intend to keep flying commercially in the US but if it is longer than about 5 years and if AA and US merge, I can assure you that you'll be going through this exact same scenario again.
The economics of an AA-US merger simply don't work the way the AA supporters want to believe and Parker is advertising.
You will simply be kicking the can a little further down the road but not getting what you as pilots could have with other options or more importantly what is necessary to make AA a viable company long term.
BTW,
will the US merger happen before or after your fellow pilots burn the place down?
Pissed off line mechanics will do whatever they can to help the pilots.
At least someone gets it.....well, Mr. Bates got it to, but his membership didn't.
May I add, that where, is there any empiracle data that points to Parker and company being a better management team? EVeryone rejected him and found other dancing partners, and his own unions are still battling him......so the two biggest complaints union employees have with AA's management is how they run the airline and how they treat labor yet I fail to see what they are smoking to think Parker and company will be an improvement? US Air employees are proud, as they should be, but I bet not proud of their management.
Cheers,
777 / 767 / 757
700,
I thought I would do a little digging to sort out the whole alliance thing WRT to US - and was I surprised - and surprise, surprise, your execs don't tell the real truth.
In fact, about 40% of US TATL traffic flies into Star hubs - and they aren't just FRA and MUC. Normally, carriers get a revenue PREMIUM for their flights into their alliance partner hubs based on the theory that you should have better marketing there. Interestingly, though, US gets average fares well below its alliance partners UA and CO (who reported separately until recently - I wanted to look at a full year's worth of data). And US' average fares even into Star hubs are lower than - oh you don't want to know whose. The only North American airline that US beat was AA who doesn't serve most of US' continental Europe cities with its own metal so sells alot of lower yield connecting traffic.
BUT when you look at non-Star cities, US does better with average fares than they do in their own alliance cities. Tighten the group down even further and US' best performance in Europe is to oneworld hubs! US has been helping the wrong team - or at least its own alliance partners are taking the best revenue for themselves and leaving US with the leftovers. When your friends treat you like this.....