On a slightly different topic... I am always pondering, and who isn't, career progression based upon future attrition and growth. I would say the majority of captains I fly with think a junior pilot on the Delta Seniority List will have a fairly fruitful career. I agree with this statement so long as we remain the status quo. The industry is just too dynamic for that to happen which brings me to question a few items.

The contract granted the company a smaller pilot group through gained efficiencies and early retirements. This has probably delayed the requirement to hire pilots for a short period of time. With this new contract and future known retirements, I would think the company could easily predict and peg a date for when hiring must begin and yet they haven't. Why is this? The only scenario I can think of is the company is in the midst of further consolidation and therefore the staffing needs are completely unknown. Depending on the outcome of consolidation, the immediate need for pilots will be buffered, eliminated, or worse, reduced. ie. merging or acquiring a junior vs. senior pilot group. I'm wondering how the APCer's see these different consolidation scenarios unfolding and the impact on the bottom pilots of Delta's seniority list.