According to a representative of SWAPA, the union that represents the Southwest Airlines’ pilot union, the top half of the letter that was posted earlier this afternoon is authentic. The bottom part that was posted earlier with supposed agreement “details” was not. Therefore I have removed the post entirely to prevent any further misinformation from being distributed.

Thank goodness. I was trying to figure out how in the world Southwest Airlines was going to order that many planes.

I have asked the SWAPA union representative who contacted me to please forward me an accurate summary of the tentative agreement.

_____________________

July 16, 2011

Fellow Pilots,

This afternoon, the AirTran Merger Committee (MC) reached an agreement-in-principle with SWAPA and Southwest Airlines on a seniority list integration and transition agreement.

This agreement will be presented to the ATN ALPA Master Executive Council for their consideration in the near future. If this agreement is approved by the MEC, it will be presented to the membership for ratification.

The MC will be working in the coming days to translate the current agreement into a full-language document. This will require a great deal of work, and your patience is appreciated as they develop a comprehensive presentation for the MEC and the pilots of AirTran Airways.

The Merger Committee believes that this a fair agreement that provides career protection for AirTran pilots, as well as significant economic gains.

In unity,

Your ATN Master Executive Council

______________________