http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2010/10/qa-with-swapa-president-capt-carl-kuwitzky.html
Q&A with SWAPA president Capt. Carl Kuwitzky
On Friday, I had the chance to talk with Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association president Capt. Carl Kuwitzky about the Dallas-based carrier's pending acquisition of AirTran Airways.
ST:Have you met with the AirTran pilots union to discuss the merger?
Kuwitzky: I spoke to the Airtran pilots union, my counterpart, he is a MEC chairman. I spoke to him and they came over Tuesday. We had a meeting late Tuesday afternoon and then again Wednesday morning and then they went back to Atlanta. It was just an introductory meeting and we have an ongoing dialogue at this point.
ST: Describe the process going forward on bringing the AirTran pilots into Southwest.
Kuwitzky: First thing, this is an acquisition and that means we actually merge operations but there is a legal distinction that this is an acquisition. We have two separate tracks we’re going to be working on for th next 6 to 8 months. One is an agreement to blend operations together and that is called a transition agreement. We’re already at work on that. That will be between SWAPA and Southwest Airlines. You have the AirTran operations governed by the AirTran pilots contract and the Southwest operations governed by the SWAPA contract....You have to put those two together. Our contract will be the governing document and we need to codify that contractually...[The transition agreement] needs to be completed by the transaction date between Southwest and AirTran. We’re looking at April 1, June 1 as the transaction date. After that, we’ll start working on a seniority list integration agreement that will be between us and the ALPA unit. The company will not be involved in that.
ST: What are some of your concerns about the merger for your pilots?
Kuwitzky: There are always concerns. There are two incidents that can have a dramatic effect on a pilot's career. One is an acquisition or a merger and the other would be a bankruptcy of your carrier. Both have dramatic effects on your income and quality of life. It is real clear that there will be benefits for the carriers and for the AirTran pilots because they’re coming on our contract. Right now, there really is not much in it for the Southwest pilots. The downside is an adverse seniority list integration that can impact our pilots careers.
ST: What is the status of your talks with Southwest about operating Boeing 737-800 aircraft? Has that been put on hold?
Kuwitzky:No. But it’s certainly moved down the step ladder of importance. The company can move forward with the 800 orders without any agreement with us. We have another year plus before they would show up here. I know they’d like to have an agreement but it’s not a top priority for us. This transaction with AirTran is a top priority. We think [the aircraft purchase] is going to be a good move for the company. It’s very positive on the cost side and revenue side and it will give us some expansion opportunities. We think it’s a good move but we’re going to keep our eye on the ball and that’s this transaction [with Airtran].
ST: Have you talked with Southwest about operating the Boeing 717 which is part of AirTran's fleet?
Kuwitzky:It won't surprise me if they move those airplanes out but what the company has told us presently is they plan to operate the Boeing 717s. It’s got reasonable costs and we could be very profitable with it. I anticipate them keeping the airplane for the next 6 to 8 years....It takes about 6 weeks to train a pilot on a 737 and about 6 weeks to train a pilot on the 717. So it's more a logistical problem than an operational one.
ST:Any other concerns regarding the AirTran acquisition?
Kuwitzky: When a deal is first announced everybody gets real caught up in the positives. But there are some huge pitfalls that could happen in this contract that could affect Southwest Airlines. If you have a very hostile and not a well received seniority list integration that could translate over. It could have tremendous ramifications for our pilots and our careers. Hopefully we can work it out and it can be a favorable settlement for both groups and something we can wrap our arms but that is a huge unknown at this point.
-Andrea Ahles
The bolded print really jumps out at me. Just what would it take to have a list that would be well received? I'm excited about working for Southwest Airlines, but I'm not so sure a staple would be fair. How much of a beat down do we have to take for them to feel good? And if their expectations are unrealistic ... what then?
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