Airsupport

so we got a memo saying daddy delta realized they were unfair in cancelling our contract. so out of the kindness of their hearts they have decided to give us a 90 day extension to allow us to get our numbers back up. they have also allowed us to have more of a say in our schedules.

i am willing to bet this whole thing was a sham from the beginning. i honestly believe delta had no intention of cancelling our contract. what i don't know is who exactly they are trying to scare.

if they are trying to scare management into getting us to sign a contract then it probably worked. we haven't heard a peep from management for several months about negotiations, then all the sudden on the exact weekend delta announces this we are ta'ing stuff left and right. strange coincidence. and i know a lot of you will say that delta doesn't care about the pinnacle pilots contract. and you are right. they don't care about the DETAILS of that contract. but they do care if we have one. by the time delta and nwa merge we will be approaching a new presidency and going on 4 years of no contract. we are number 1 on the NMB list right now. pinnacle is nwa's largest regional carrier. if after the merger we go on strike delta will take a big hit. and they wont let that happen again. they are going to pay pinnacle a certain amount for the flying. it is up to pinnacle management to decide how that money is spent. so while delta doesn't care about the details of the contract, they dont want one of their new carriers going on strike right after the merger.

if they are trying to scare the pilot group into signing a subpar contract then they should know that it wont work. we didn't sign one to keep our nwa flying, yet we still got it. we didn't sign one to keep planes from going to mesaba, yet we are still all here, and we didn't sign one to win the delta flying.

i guess only time will tell what their grand scheme was. we just heard about our numbers in ATL also and they are way up. so lets recap

delta gives unattainable schedules
threatens to cancel our contract
gives us more control of schedules
numbers go back up
we get 90 day extension to "prove" ourselves

JoeyMeatballs

Good news

ComairFO

Heard a rumor that Richard Anderson was in Memphis talking to "Uncle Phil" a few days after this was first announced. There has to be a alterior motive!

Flitestar

I guess this would explain why the 900s seemed to be scheduled on Delta's side up to late september, like someone pointed out here in the forums...

Definately good news...
FS

Airsupport

wasn't a rumor. he was in memphis the next day, even did a interview with cnbc while he was here.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=768944643&play=1

it would also explain why they are getting the 900 classes going asap. they are probably going to put 10 guys per flight on airport reserve just to make sure there is a pilot for every flight!

DANCRJ

Yeah I kind of felt that way too about the whole Delta cutting us off so suddenly. I guess it's just one of the many techniques they use to get what they want.
Now here's the question I have, are we still getting more airplanes to reach the number 16th 900? Maybe what Delta was really trying to achieve is to stop the deliveries of more airplanes to continue with their regional cuttback program...... just an idea that pop in my head, does anybody now?

Lighteningspeed

Richard Anderson also flew to MSP this past Friday, presumably to talk to NWA and Mesaba CEOs. He was on a Mesaba CRJ900 flight from ATL.

norskman2

RA was in Memphis that day because he had been previously scheduled to speak at a Memphis Business Forum meeting.

However, in the CNBC interview he made it clear that they were in "discussions" with Pinnacle about the DC flying, and Pinnacle said that as well in a recent regulatory filing.

ATL9E

Yea, this is great news. The past few weeks our performance numbers have been way up since Delta gave into some of our scheduling requests. At least for me, there's always been a plane waiting at the gate when we get there.

And since Delta announced the termination, the performance numbers have gone up even more. If there's anybody out there sweating blood to get flights out on time these days, its 9E ATL pilots. Most of us really like the base, and we want to keep it and improve the overall operation.

We also just received a memo from Flight Ops basically telling us to "haul a**" in all phases of flight. Up to .82 in RVSM airspace (aircraft autopilot limitation) and be just under the barber pole everywhere else as long as its legal. Flights will be dispatched with these numbers built in for the climb, cruise, and descent.

So whether this whole Delta thing is a strategic thing, a political thing, or whether it truly has to do with performance numbers.... we'll get it back. Just watch.

Spaceman Spliff

Does Delta pay for Pinnacle's gas?