Originally Posted by
Scoop
Alfa,
In hindsight it appears DAL management made a huge error going bonkers with the RJ "explosion" of the last decade. DALPA made a few mistakes also but hopefully we are finally moving in the right direction.
Scoop
In hindsight, ALPA should have fought to have the RJ flying done by Delta pilots. Delta's core business is flying passengers; "Connection" is a core business.
MEC Chairman Chuck Giambusso stated that military pilots would not want to fly at Delta if the airline offered E120 or RJ jobs as a starting position. He did not see the regional flying as "Delta" flying. His opinion formed the basis for separating the work and thus, the union and our airline.
In other words, Capt. Giambusso put the career path of military pilots ahead of the air line pilots he represented. It was a strategic error that put a couple thousand of his pilots on the street as Delta replaced the early JT8D powered jets (727 & 737-200).
... and before the senior chorus sings the "management did not want a merger" verse, I am speaking only to ALPA's position. ALPA's responsibility is to speak for pilots that it represents. The truth is that the mainline MECs (all of them) did not see a E-175 or a C Series coming. Among the airplanes that did exist at the time (E120, ATR, Dash 8) only the Pan Am pilots realized scope is first an issue of unity.