American Pilots view of TWA Pilot merger.
Do many American Airlines pilots feel that most TWA pilots should go to the bottom of their seniortiy list, whether the TWA pilots are given five or so years of "seat protection" or not? Maybe such protection would prevent any downward displacements later.
I chatted last Wednesday night with an American crew in a Nashville Doubletree Hotel, and one of the pilots felt that such a situation would be fair to the TWA pilots because "we saved their butts", or similar words. What he meant was that any job for the TWA pilots was fair, because TWA, having been drained of vital cash flow by Carl Icahn, was about to go out of business. AMR agreed to purchase TWA, but one condition was that TWA file Chapter 11 (bankruptcy). Maybe some AMR pilots feel that the previous 40% pay cuts taken by TWA pilots, in order to help save their company, does not count for anything. That same American captain did not mention that AMR gained many aircraft and valuable gates/slots at numerous airports. Maybe that counts for nothing, in the eyes of some line pilots.
Interesting rationale is often used to justify shafting your fellw pilots. Many "redbook" NWA pilots wanted to do this to Republic's pilots, and it actually happened when Piedmont Airlines bought Empire. Years after the NWA/Republic merger, the NWA company paper, "Passages", finallt admitted that NWA needed the Republic hub feed, in order to survive.
Do most American pilots feel the same way about TWA, or are they just nervous about the seniority of many TWA pilots? It is interesting how so many pilots believe in seniority by date-of-hire, but only if it benefits their own career progression, i.e. widebodies...never mind that after mergers take place everyone at Brand X Airlines receives a paycheck from the same company and wears the same uniforms, in exchange for contracted services worked out under a joint contract.
[ 11 August 2001: Message edited by: Ignition Override ]