APA (The AMerican Pilots) have been trying to bring Eagle over as a merger.
The company's response effectively is that we the pilots would have to buy eagle ourselves (they value it at several billion dollars, which is funny, because AMR(the parent company ofwhich eagle is a part) itself is only worth about 600 million) because they MIGHT want to spin it off one day.
I think the Eagle pilots want to come to American as well, because THEIR scope clause is being violated as well, and they now realize it is a common fight against Don Carty. Furthermore they would then have automatic advancement with seniority.
Unfortunately this never had to happen. Untill about 1986 American Airlines had a 1 line scope clause. It said all flying will be done by pilots on the master seniority list. Then we allowed the commuter exception rather than fly the turboprops ourselves, and it grew and grew and grew and grew....
In the last contract we were going to fight for the jets but a group of stupid pilots decided they didn't want to fly them (duh, that's what the seniority list is for, don't want to fly em, dont bid em) and so we let em go. Now we realize how stupid we were and are in a position of having to fight to get back what was ours.
Delta is in even worse shape. By the end of next year 50 percent of their available seat miles domestically will be on the RJs. Jobs that are gone forever. Instead of a scope clause they thought they woudl get a no furlough clause to protect their jobs (but boy would those jobs be stagnant). Well Sept 11 blew a big hole in the side of their no furlough clause and they continue to hemrage pilots to the street at an alarming rate.
Cheers
Wino