Originally Posted by
fisherpilot
I'm wondering that if DAL had a contract close to what SWA has would that make "most" guys happy? I understand that the airline has shrunk over the years and no one likes that at all. I have to believe that Management would rather fill one 170+ seat airplane than several RJ's. I may be totally off here. I'm trying to figure out what it is that would make this the place that most want to retire from.
From my view, it's a complicated issue. Sure, we'd like SWA pay - and I'm talking Southwest's W2 and days off. But that would require working long days - making us more efficient. That would result more stagnation and maybe cutting some guys off the bottom. So - I guess the answer is, wanting SWA pay may not be the best choice.
The issue with filling a 170 seat airplane vs several RJs, is another complex one. Sure, mgmt would prefer to fill a 170 seat airplane, but not if we're only flying that route once a day with it. Business travelers need many flights a day, so mgmt actually prefers (and something called the S-curve supports that) several departures spread around the day. A secondary issue is that Delta has bought all these RJs and they are on long term contracts. We can't get rid of them immediately, even if they aren't profitable, so they have to be used for something. We are cutting back, but we still have a lot.