AC management has had 8-10 years to figure out how to make this company work and this is the best they can come up with? Of course costs exceed income and some things have to change, but after all that time they haven't figured out a way to recreate their company. One can point to WS's low cost operation and say that's the model, but the thing is that WS pilots get comparable compensation and there is no sense of mutiny or overt hostility between management and workers there (I know it's hard to do a straight comparison due to stock options/pension differences, but from all I can gather from forums where pilots discuss things the money is pretty close).

I really hate that the government looks to be stepping in again, too. I'm sure that allowing a strike would give PD and WS a big leg up in their growth. Let 'em at it and maybe then AC's management and employees will realize that they really have to fight to keep their company going. More reasonable heads might prevail on both sides then.