Originally Posted by
TenYearsGone
ACL, I know...I was hoping you would not say something so pessimistic. And more importantly, I was hoping ALPA, which I know has the plan at hand, can help mitigate this BS maneuver by the company
The cost of oil is just the price you have to pay to be in business. It should not be of concern to me or any other pilots. UAL/CAL is expanding, DAL is implying-->Shrinkage. OIL is high for UAL/CAL, Alaska, KLM/AF, PCL and Hawaiian too; but somehow they are flying our routes and we are paying them,,hmmmm
TEN
There are two forces at work within ALPA. You got those that have theirs (767 Captains) and those who want a shot at that wide body Captain job before they retire. The first crowd wants Delta to do well to preserve the deal they've got. At the end of the day they don't care what happens to anyone as long as Delta does well and they keep their good deal until they're gone. The rest want a balanced approach that protects longevity, seniority and opportunity. The Captains are firmly in control of the ship. It strikes me as odd that some junior MD88A's are firmly in the "outsource anything, just pay me" camp. Frankly, they just do not understand economics.
The only religion that might change things is unity. As an ALPA politician, it is hard to be against unity (although most are self interested behind the closed door). As sovereigns begin defaulting on their obligations and fear increases I expect the narrow focus on Delta's well being to intensify.
Delta has hired about 7,400 pilots in the last decade ... they just don't have seniority numbers.
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Delta is better hedged than our competitors at the moment. We can also try to save fuel where we can.