Furthermore, the FAA has defined both AirTran and Southwest as “distressed carriers” so you can expect an increase in FAA observers on our jumpseats.
Per the FAA guidelines, any company experiencing a change in the scope and scale of operations (growth or downsizing), labor difficulties, financial problems, and/or bankruptcy or Chapter 11 proceedings are classified as a distressed carrier. This means that we will be subjected to increased surveillance of all operations including flight operations. The FAA inspectors assigned to AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines will be supplemented by other inspectors from around the country to observe and cite if necessary. The intent of the increased oversight is not to violate crewmembers, but to ensure there is no degradation of safety during the transition process.
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The SWA pilots have soooooooo much to lose. I bet the FAA will have soooooooooooooooo many observations to make sure the SWA pilots are not affected by the external pressures of the SLI. (sarcasim)
Yeah right; we know which company the FAA will be riding on most and it will not be SWA.
I'll say it again. The SWA pilots had no jeopardy in this. They had nothing to lose. It shows the last few days with the threats and the crying on here just how good of a deal they knew this past agreement was for them. The gains for them at the AAI pilots expense were huge and were simply unfair. Maybe the FAA needs to observe the SWA pilots more now than before. I bet they ride AAI more.
Now with mediation. I hope it works out for both groups.
Arbitration.
If the SWA pilots have strong and valid points they have nothing to worry about in arbitration. They should not be so upset this deal did not go through.
Oh and I appreciate all the phone calls and messages from my friends at other airlines showing their support for me and the pilots at AAI. They know this test of McCaskill Bond will affect them in the future. The FAA should probably ride in the flight deck on every airline that might be bought in the near future while this is going on.
_________________________
BTW, did the SWA union send out a safety bulletin about this? I did not think so.. so I thought I would pass along the FAA concerns. Who are they concerned about?
Per the FAA guidelines, any company experiencing a change in the scope and scale of operations (growth or downsizing), labor difficulties, financial problems, and/or bankruptcy or Chapter 11 proceedings are classified as a distressed carrier. This means that we will be subjected to increased surveillance of all operations including flight operations. The FAA inspectors assigned to AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines will be supplemented by other inspectors from around the country to observe and cite if necessary. The intent of the increased oversight is not to violate crewmembers, but to ensure there is no degradation of safety during the transition process.
__________________________________
The SWA pilots have soooooooo much to lose. I bet the FAA will have soooooooooooooooo many observations to make sure the SWA pilots are not affected by the external pressures of the SLI. (sarcasim)
Yeah right; we know which company the FAA will be riding on most and it will not be SWA.
I'll say it again. The SWA pilots had no jeopardy in this. They had nothing to lose. It shows the last few days with the threats and the crying on here just how good of a deal they knew this past agreement was for them. The gains for them at the AAI pilots expense were huge and were simply unfair. Maybe the FAA needs to observe the SWA pilots more now than before. I bet they ride AAI more.
Now with mediation. I hope it works out for both groups.
Arbitration.
If the SWA pilots have strong and valid points they have nothing to worry about in arbitration. They should not be so upset this deal did not go through.
Oh and I appreciate all the phone calls and messages from my friends at other airlines showing their support for me and the pilots at AAI. They know this test of McCaskill Bond will affect them in the future. The FAA should probably ride in the flight deck on every airline that might be bought in the near future while this is going on.
_________________________
BTW, did the SWA union send out a safety bulletin about this? I did not think so.. so I thought I would pass along the FAA concerns. Who are they concerned about?
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