Pilots from AirTran Airways and their counterparts at Southwest Airlines will soon vote on a deal to combine their seniority lists, a critical step forward in the merger of the two airlines.
But it comes amid a difficult struggle among pilot union leadership. A first deal fell apart last month when leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association at AirTran decided not to pass it onto members for a vote.
Disagreements among pilots can foil the success of airline mergers, as has happened in the US Airways-America West merger. If the new deal is approved by a vote of nearly1,600 AirTran pilots and more than 6,000 Southwest pilots, it could work to smooth the transition.
Southwest is eager to avoid going to arbitration, saying a negotiated deal "gives both groups ownership."
Some discussion among pilots has circled around statements by Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly, who raised the possibility that AirTran's operations might not be fully combined into Southwest, which is a larger carrier with more financial stability. Southwest executives have also said they do not plan to permanently keep AirTran's Boeing 717s, which could affect pilot jobs.
Negative fallout from the failed first deal led to an ongoing vote among AirTran pilots on whether to recall some of their union leaders.
The new Southwest-AirTran seniority deal would involve a gradual transition for pilots from AirTran into Southwest pay rates and positions, starting next April and to be completed by the end of 2014, according to union documents. The first deal also included an increase for AirTran pilots to Southwest pay rates next year.
But there are some other benefits AirTran pilots would still retain in the new deal. They would retain their longevity with AirTran after they move to Southwest and would not be furloughed before the transition is complete, "unless prohibitive conditions occur."
Pilot jobs on AirTran's Boeing 717 jets would, for the most part, be reserved for AirTran pilots until January 2015. Pilots on the 717s would maintain AirTran pay rates through 2014, and then rise to pay rates of Southwest Boeing 737 pilots.
Pilots will vote on the seniority deal Oct. 8 through Nov. 7.
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