B 767300ER's references to certain interesting ironies in AA's unfortunate situation are quite valid. Any one in his situation could feel at least a little bitter about it, whether or not it is expressed to total strangers. Whoever has a career which can never be endangered, may certainly "cast the first stone".
My only question is that, after years of having given what were about 40% cuts in pilot pay to help their airline survive Icahn's ruthless theft of TWA's vital operating cash (never mind his control of, and profits from his large chunk of TWA's ticket stock), just why is it that the TWA pilot group can often be somehow implicated in, or linked to TWA's failure, even by fellow pilots? Are rationalizations necessary in order to craft a case for any quite cold-hearted arbitration of seniority lists? Another major used the magic word "expectations" with the arbitrator (whose results came out after more than three years of quiet contemplation: maybe he received some juicy baksheesh along the way), to try to keep all of the widebodie$ for themselves, and staple all the other pilots to the bottom.
(With seniority-based pay, mergers would be much easier.)
So many of the thousands of US airline pilots who have never walked in the shoes of a TWA pilot or those in very similar circumstances, can never understand the harsh struggle and daily anxiety they went through over several very long years, just trying to preserve their (career) company against unlimited greed from a former owner and his staff of attorneys, who have absolutely no conscience. TWA's decline from its earlier status as a glamorous, well-run carrier can not in any way be blamed on the employees, many of whom were stuck (by seniority and a little pension funding) at the carrier. So many of them could not simply leave.
Now the shoe is on the other foot. Nobody should feel true "Schadenfreude" about it, but American's pilots might end up with similar paycuts, as the TWA pilots were forced for years to endure.
1) This can have quite an effect on Final Average Earnings, if this clause is in a contract.
2) Never mind our government PBGC granting exemptions to pension funding. This shocking situation is far from over.
Recent articles in "Airways" magazine by Line Check Airman Rick Drury (also author of "My Secret War") highlight attitudes of at least a few Pan Am and United pilots many years ago, who were reportedly quite arrogant towards pilots with other airlines, whether talking in a Dublin pub, or on an employee bus.
Nobody's airline career is ironclad. They claimed that the Titanic was unsinkable, and later, that a certain Imperial Navy presented no threat to our Pacific Fleet in 1941
. Stay tuned.