Originally Posted by
alfaromeo
So, when exactly did Bucking Bar and ACL and the majority of Delta pilots on this board get hired? Wasn't that after 2006 when the "scope sale" took place? I don't understand. Why would Delta hire pilots and American have 1,900 pilots on furlough? Didn't we sell our jobs away and American kept their jobs through strong scope? Something doesn't compute here. Explain.
Sure it computes. American bought TWA at the apex of a market cycle and closed most of its money losing operation during a worse than normal down turn. American management has turned a deaf ear to their employees and has been unwilling (or unable) to reach the sort of deals Delta management did after its two reorganizations (merger and bankruptcy were both "opportunities" to re re-create the operation).
Delta has outsourced about half of its domestic narrow body network. Since emergence from bankruptcy the Delta MEC has done an excellent job protecting its junior members. Delta management has placed value on labor peace and carried extra staffing to prevent negative opinions of the merger it orchestrated. Delta could have 1,000 furloughs. It made the decision not to.
As a result of the level of outsourcing at Delta, the normal cycle of growth and adjustment itself can somewhat be outsourced. But this is not the good thing it might seem at first blush. It simply means that effectively a new Delta pilot is ten years older with no longevity when he gets welcomed aboard. I would guess the average "new" Delta Captain will be around 50 years old (or more).