"but they have to fend of militant unions as well. "
AA unions have been historically weak, and and the whole, have been paid
less than the industry average for 20 years.
"If we would have had safer cockpit doors along time ago would that have stopped 9/11. You and I can not answer that question"
No we can''t know for sure. We do know that a better door and procedures would have altered terrorist thinking. Before 9/11 there were 30 plus cockpit intrusions over a relatively short time. In some cases the aircraft was nearly lost such as the BA 747 over Africa. The inaction was criminally negligent. I knew their was a problem, I sat on my arse and did nothing. The company KNEW about the door security, they did nothing.
"I wonder what kind of company we would be if the pilots did not cause an illegal sick out costing the company millions."
I wish it didn''t happen either. I also wish AA management had respected the contract clause they signed in 1997 in regards to carrier aquisitions like Reno, instead of the deliberate violation of it that resulted in the downward slide to a major fight.
You can smugly point your finger at the wife who breaks a plate over her husbands head, but if the fight is a result of him sleeping with the nanny, that problem has to be solved too.
" I wonder where the apa would be if the company forced them to pay the fine."
APA paid 20 something million already. The rest is spread out over some time period. Even if AMR wanted it all up front from every pilot on the list at the sick out, it would have been about $3500-4000 per pilot. Since Late fall of 2001, I have seen a $80,000 paycut. Put the fine in perspective in relation to that.
You seem biased to the company side of regarding union attacks. I read
many accounts of APA members who became negotiaters and union reps thinking that somehow they could start fresh with a cooperative relationship with AA management. They truly believed that APA was partly responsible for the bad relations and they were positive they could change the relationship for the better. To the man, every last one of them has been discouraged by AA management behavior and leadership. The Flagship News and Carty''s hotlines are a mirage.