Originally Posted by
iahphx
Well, if you want to argue that WN's "corporate ethics" are better than others, I wouldn't mention ATA. WN bought their Midway assets to prevent them from falling into another airlines hands (either AirTran or America West). What they left was a shell of a company that almost everyone believed would eventually go under (and everybody was right!).
America West intended to take the gates AND the employees. Had AW not been outbid, all of those employees would still have good major airline jobs today. And consumers would probably enjoy more choices in the Chicago market.
Which isn't to say that WN was wrong to do what they did -- from a business standpoint, I think it was one of their smarter moves in the past decade -- just that it was far from saintly.
Am I reading this right? If America West had bought ATA, those employees would have "good major airline jobs"? Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! This is the same crummy airline that merged with US because it was their and US' last gasp, and (miraculously) they manage to barely squeak by, despite industry-leading paycuts and labor discord and angry passengers.
The employees who were spared the sentence of working for HP and likely getting furloughed shortly thereafter instead have a better chance at being accepted for a position with WN due to their growth overall and in the Chicago market.