Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
Then they spent another 11 to 12 billion on new airplanes and half a billion on a strike for a total cost in the range of $15 billion. Outsourcing an airline is expensive.
As of 2009, it was believed the FUTURE obligations under our fee for departure contracts was in the range of $25 billion. A number initially disputed, then subsequently quasi confirmed by one of ALPA's published scope experts.
I will repeat, outsourcing an airline is expensive.
I absolutely agree that outsourcing was one of the major factors contributing to DAL's bankruptcy, but perhaps not for the financial reason you mention. I suspect it likely saved DAL dollars, by paying employees, contractors, and everyone else involved peanuts.
But as my Daddy always said, "you get what you pay for".
When DAL started (and continues to this day) to label and sell the inferior product that every small jet operator provides as a DAL product, they cashed in on the DAL reputation that took a generation to build. That method worked..... until it didn't.
And now, the reverse is true. Delta has a horrible reputation among the flying public. Customer complaints are rampant. On a personal note, the vast majority of complaints I hear from friends, neighbors, or even strangers, when they complain about their last trip on "Delta", I come to find out they never actually flew on Delta. If we don't fix THAT problem, and I see no indication management has any intentions of it, you and I are liable to wind up back in BK.