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No way! We must hope for the worst...Why is it so obvious that this AA bankruptcy is going to mirror those carriers ? Could there be any differences?
Bob Owens posted last year that quite a few AA mechanics were sticking around until the checks for retro were issued but would leave after they got those retro checks.Were any of those carriers still hiring mechanics after filing for bankruptcy??
If some of the line gets what they want and OH goes away with there only protection is to RED CIRCLE the line, then there would be in need of hiring new mechanics. If company is cutting some flight schedules even before bankruptcy, the need for more mechanics is really puzzling. You also have to remmeber that one of the cost advantage in maintenance is the OSM. Are we going to see a licensed Aircraft Support Mechanic appear out of bankruptcy?Bob Owens posted last year that quite a few AA mechanics were sticking around until the checks for retro were issued but would leave after they got those retro checks.
Retro is probably not in the cards now, but it's possible that some of the mechanics will leave as soon as they realize that they can earn more money fixing something other than airplanes (maybe anything other than airplanes).
I gotta believe that AA is hiring mechanics in the hopes that it can cover the daily line maintenance needs if large numbers of mechanics quit during the bankruptcy (perhaps because the wages AA offers are not as rich as many mechanics would like).
Nope .... your total pay package cut will be around 25-35%. Ask any present or former UA/US/CO/DL/NW employee. Been there done it.
Agreed.The fact remains that mechanic's at AA have less benefit's overall with the exception of Pension....Pretty much the only thing left is two days off in a week. Unless we work a day for free...I'm pretty sure this will turn out like Eastern if pay is raped..no one will be on board...I don't see rank and file putting up with more bonuses and less pay for the troops. It would be a complete disaster to cut 25% the whole thing will implode.That would be a 50-60% pay-cut since 911.They may as well start looking for parking lots for Aircraft now...
I heard an interesting twist to all this. The reason DL and US are interested in buying AA is because they are worried when AA comes out of BK they will come out lean and mean with a young fleet
Pilots at US East have been willing to fly narrowbodies for $125/hr (captains) for many years and that payrate is far below the jetBlue rate. The US East narrowbody first officer rates are also far below the jetBlue first officer payrates. Cutting pilot payrates would be painful, but pilots at other airlines have flown for much less than AA's rates for much of the last decade.
If cuts at TUL are major, then you are suggesting the outsouce of the facility as a heavy maintenace unit, maybe to a Light "C" unit. At what point does the company stop doing there own maintenance? Are we to immulate the other bankrupt airlines just because of what they did in bankruptcy.I've long assumed that AA's licensed mechanics will not suffer much in the way of payrate cuts, as it's obvious that AA's rate is already near the bottom of the industry and about 33% below the industry-leaders. In maintenance, I see the savings coming from headcount reduction, especially in Tulsa.
For pilots and FAs, however, there's more room to cut payrates, as AA's pilots have been at or near the top of the industry (except for WN) despite the concessions. Only recently did DL's post-bankruptcy raises cause some DL pilots to surpass AA's pilot payrates, and DL has a long history of buying labor peace among its pilots with unsustainable payrates. Plus, if AA shrinks in Ch 11 (as is widely expected), it will have a greater surplus of pilots and FAs, and cuts to top payrates will eventually cause some of the senior crew to leave. Perhaps Horton won't cut payrates but will try to get all the savings from productivity improvements - we'll soon find out.
Pilots at US East have been willing to fly narrowbodies for $125/hr (captains) for many years and that payrate is far below the jetBlue rate. The US East narrowbody first officer rates are also far below the jetBlue first officer payrates. Cutting pilot payrates would be painful, but pilots at other airlines have flown for much less than AA's rates for much of the last decade.
Again, a topic for another week, but that's exactly what I alluded to when I said I didn't see a deal coming out which essentially divides up the country between the #1 and #2 player, with a few scraps thrown to US...
There also is no need to do a break-up on the order of what happened with Pan Am & Eastern, or to a lesser degree, with TWA. Things have changed a lot in that regard due to Open Skies treaties. There's little AA has right now as far as international route authorities that any other airline couldn't also obtain organically. If DL wanted to re-launch the DFW hub tomorrow, it's a phone call away.
duhI heard an interesting twist to all this. The reason DL and US are interested in buying AA is because they are worried when AA comes out of BK they will come out lean and mean with a young fleet