AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - hopefully this puts off integration for a bit

http://www.ajc.com/business/airtran-pilots-union-leadership-1121285.html

Probably not, an arbitrator will solve the problems.

Probably not, an arbitrator will solve the problems.

Or not. I believe that US and HP pilots have yet to come to an agreement, but the airlines have effectively merged.

The merger will be as good for Airtran pilots as it is for Airtran's formerly loyal customer base.

The Airtran pilots should read about Muse Air's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TranStar_Airlines) acquisition history before going too crazy on contract issues. WN's historical truth is they won't tolerate the dual pilot shenanigans that exist at US.

There is a better source for history... I read a post from an ex-Muse pilot who was caught up in the mess. It was pretty sad.

Edited to add:
Just remembered... it was a case study in a business class I'm taking. Reference: BATNA (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/73387265/Best_Alternative_To_Negotiated_Agreement).

I have no idea how current management will treat Airtran pilots. The one thing I do know is that how a company acted 26 years ago, when no current management was in a managing position, is a meaningless comparison.

I recently found myself looking over the referenced Muse Air/TranStar offer and the correspondence to/from Captains Bradley and Golich.

Thanks, emma dog, for the link regarding the BATNA concept - I found it very interesting.