Originally Posted by
rvr350
Agreed. I do like some of Section 1. It's the additional 75 jumbo RJs that turns me into a nayer. I don't believe the Yes voter realizes how damaging the 76 seaters are to our career. Yes, getting rid of the 50 seaters is in the right direction, kudos to our NC. But, I just can't fathom getting more of the same poison (if not even more poisonous) that we've been fed to is a good idea as well.
Exactly. The 90 seaters we're giving up (while allowing to keep all 70 seaters) represent a collective fleet of 325 AC versus the current 255. This is the fleet that counts. A 2:1 reduction in much less relevant 50 seaters is an insufficient ratio even if one is going to entertain allowing more. Next contract they will still have 150 50 seaters and 102 70 seaters they will want to trade in for even more 90 seaters. If 2:1 is acceptable and even a "big win" by some, then by that line of thinking, C2015 will contain 126 more or a total of 451 90 seaters. That DC-9 replacement fleet with mainline CASM would be equal to our fleets of everything under a 757 and then some and it would be the equivalent of 225 current mainline aircraft. Even this TA's allowable number of 325 is about 140-150 mainline aircraft (rounded in favor of the current 70's remaining 70's versus the other example of all 90's seating 76).
[would] you rather have to trust our mgmt/union to comply with the ratio in this TA, or [would] you rather put a stop to competing RJ (ie 76 seaters, not 50 seaters) growth for once, and go from there?
Not only that, but I just can't see how this will be enforceable in good times, let alone bad times. The ratios, mile and hub limits will be the first things shredded in concessionary negotiations and even if we keep rolling in profits forever (not possible in this industry especially when your main strategy is the radically unsustainable shrinking to profitability) the enforceability is very suspect at best anyway. Is an arbitrator really going to uphold our contract by forcing the company to violate other contracts? While there may be some flexibility in the block hour utilization of DCI CPA's, you can't just go to zero at your sole discretion because I'm sure their CPA/ASA's specify a certain amount of flying/income, otherwise we could do that right now and transfer that flying to mainline with ease and the company and DALPA say we can't do that now, so how can we do that then?