I got paid 1380h credit in 2011 for flying 960h block. (And that was no record. Some "special deal" dudes made way more on average.) That is a 40% soft time factor. It made my super low $77/h an equivalent of
$108 at 4th year. Compare that at $104 at DL and tell me how much soft time does a 737 or 320 guy get?
And I was not even getting my conflicts last year too often! How come you guys have preferential bidding? Do you not like soft time? Do you like when the computer puts a turn before and right after you vacation block. Is preff bid going away in the new TA?
My other favorite topic is upgrade. It is coming down to 3.5y by 2014. I will not be that lucky. I will have to wait alllllllthewaaaaaaaaaaay to y 5 and change.
ridiculous.
Bring that conversation up with the next MD80 FO you see in ATL. Then follow up with the 2-3% capacity cuts DL is planning for 2013. After that you can show him how to properly shiny up that double breasted blazer and march up and down in T5 so we all get to see how real airline pilots look like.