Originally Posted by Jesse

DAL paid $1 billion more last quarter than a year ago for fuel, yet still made a profit of $366 million. So when fuel costs weren't this high how could anyone (e.g. DALPA reps I come across) say the company can't afford pay restoration or anything close to it? The few DALPA guys I've flown with (both former and active) tell me profit sharing is the way to go, and that I shouldn't expect a significant (for me that means 20% or more) increase in pay (day 1).

I won't pretend to be as smart as a lot of guys on this thread about all things Delta, but I just don't get how one can make the argument pay restoration isn't affordable, yet at the same time a billion more can be found to cover other costs. And, yes, I get that ticket prices can more easily be increased to deal with fuel costs than they can for labor, but until someone starts making an argument labor costs increase as well, pilots all over are going to remain relegated to the results equivalent to their low expectations. Granted, the company is making moves to reduce costs and maximize revenue where it can, and we can't expect each quarter to be profitable with such huge fuel cost increases. But $1 billion more for the qtr compared to a year ago and I'm supposed to expect something around a 5% pay rate increase?