Originally Posted by
Rogue24
Gives more pax access to our flights, allows more flights to be booked by DAL pax(viability of existing routes that otherwise would be marginal), and reduces the need for DAL to take on more debt to serve a marginally logical route that at first whiff of fiscal issues would be dumped and the jets and debt would remain.
Keeps DAL financially strong with the reach and access for revenue without the need for high debt load.
The aviation world is changing and I expect to see these sort of JV's morph over time.
Pilots all want a little boom and and sick of bust. That cannot be discredited.
That is the problem we have. All our (super most lucrative) wide-body flying is being slowly reduced and our contract is not reflective of this new paradigm. Our contract and our expecations are of a narrow body pilot to wide-body fo to narrow body captain to wide body captain.
I believe the new reality is narrow body fo to semi wide body fo (767 300a330, 7674), to narrow body capt.
I believe our contract needs to reflect this new paradigm in two ways.
1. all wide bodyflying needs to be the paid the same rate 747, 777, a330, 764 7673 international. BUT it needs to be paid at the highest rate period. we cannot let ourselves be screwed in the game of musical joint venture a/c. Delta is taking advantage of this right now with our current structure and we are fools to think they will order big highest paying a/c when AF and everyone else has them. right now we are looking a future of no 747 as they are reduced and replaced with i assume 777300. Thus reducing the most lucrative paying positions. The same can be said for the 7674 as either it or the a330 is combined.
We need to demand all a/c above 7673 intl pay the same. If the company will not agree to it then we counter with a floor on the number od 747, 777 CA/FO positions. and if it drops below the current floor (as of today) that triggers all 7673 intl and above to be paid the highest 747 rate.
As a side note it has been mentioned a lot on this forum Ucal AA have much bigger higher paying fleets than we do.
2. also our narrow body rates need to go WAY up to reflect this future of fewer and fewer highest paying opportunities.
thanks for reading