These are exciting days at old Southwestern Airways. I’m pretty much limited to discussing publicly available or personal information (no company secrets), but here’s an overview of what’s going on in my work world:

• Our purchase of AirTran is moving along nicely. Yesterday the AirTran (AAI) shareholders voted to allow the sale with 98.6 percent approval. Since we’re paying a significant premium for AirTran, the shareholders were widely expected to approve the sale, but it’s still a crucial milestone. Now we just need approval from the regulators, which is also expected. Then we can close sometime in the second quarter. The two companies will continue to operate separately for at least a year or two while we integrate our computer systems, operational plans, employee groups, and numerous other details. Combining two airlines takes a huge amount of work.
• I’ve worked the day shift from Monday through Thursday this week. The first three days provided my annual recurrent training. Today I worked a West Coast desk. It’s almost like living a “normal” life. I wake up around 5am and leave for work before 6:30am. Jenny stays home with the boys. Then I come home in the afternoon. Weird.
• I might be switching to the day shift for quite a while if I get chosen for a special project. If I do, I’ll post details later this month.
• Our union has been negotiating a new contract since December 2009. Last week the company decided to request a mediator to help move the negotiations along. In theory, the mediator should help speed things up, but only time will tell. I’m not involved in the negotiations and know very little about what’s actually going on. I have plenty of thoughts on the topic, but for obvious reasons, we’ll have to discuss them in private.
• My department is hiring again, which is always good news. Four new guys start in early April, and we just posted the position externally for a few more that will start this summer. Right now I’m #103 of 149 on the Dispatcher seniority list. It’s hard to believe we’ve grown that much, and I’ve moved up that much, in just six years.