Equity demands that the Northwest pilots’ expectations not be fully foiled by the merger. Fairness, however, requires some tempering of the potential impact power of the adjustment mechanism. It would be myopic for this Board to focus solely on the stand-alone attrition expectations of the NWA pilot group. We accept they may constitute a legitimate career expectation, but one must also consider other elements reasonably regarded as potentially dampening those expectations.20
20 It is also appropriate to consider gains that flow from the merger. While it is true that both pilot forces are compensated relatively well, by comparison with the average U.S. airline, it is also the case that, on a stand-alone basis, Northwest Pilots were paid less than their counterparts at Delta. Due to the success of the parties in bargaining a new Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (“JCBAâ€) effective October 30, 2008, (October 30, 2008, is the date of corporate closing of the merger.) Northwest Pilots enjoyed immediate benefits averaging 9.51% across the group. Delta characterizes this as equivalent to the value of one to two-and-one-half upgrades, depending on the equipment type, for each pre-merger pilot. (See DX-21 at 11-13; DX-37 at 2; Tr., 2549-55.)
