Question for all the Airline Management bashers:
If the Tooth Fairy magically took back, retroactive to the date the company came into existence, every penny ofl Management compensation ever paid, would that sum be enough to make whole the pension plan shortfall at UA or your airline of choice?
Methinks not. During the bullish years, you negotiated a contract that ended up being unsustainable given the revenue and cost fluctuations in this highly volatile business. There simply isn't money to pay it out.
This just isn't a business that can sustain lifetime employment, ever-escalating wages based upon seniority, and fully paid rich retirement and benefits.
Very unfortunate - and I agree unfair to those who signed on and worked hard under the unkeepable promises - but seemingly true.
Maybe the real reason to be angry at "Management" is because they weren't prescient or fortitudinous in past to say "We can't make these sorts of deals with employees."