Originally Posted by
TOGA LK
This is incorrect. Under the old contract Delta would have to park or sell 70-seat airframes to take delivery of additional 76-seat RJs (CRJ-900). They could indeed pump and dump but they were capped at 255 70-76 seat airframes. This contract allowed them to keep the existing 70 and 76-seaters AND ADD 70 additional 76-seaters. FWIW prior to thd DAL contract, United and AA only had 70-seat RJs, AA capped exceptionally low and United tied to domestic block hours. CAL and SWA permitted no such aircfaft. Post DAL contract the other airlines: CAL, UAL and AA caved on scope. Delta pilots are a large contributor to keeping the DCI concept relevant for many more years, we were potentially close to a reversal. Now ALPA prays for a pilot shortage but the reality is UAL/CAL and AA/US Air will shrink like Delta and management teams from all sides are pushing hard for elimination of the max retirement age.
Sailing, you owe it to fellow pilots and yourself to know the truth and because of your position, represent the truth. The reality is Delta pilots got hoodwinked big time, it was an industry effort. We did restore some pay, exceptionally so in the case of widebody captains, sadly this targets a small group.
Lastly, growth airplanes? What has out post merger history taught us? So we shrank all this way via early outs and retirements to turn around and grow capacity back? Im not saying 321s and 330s are not a possibility, but it will take awhile to convince this pilot any management team has an agenda other than being a One World, Sky Team or Star Alliance CEO with a multitude of operators to whipsaw from.
Come on sailing, inside you know better and you probably are a smart guy. Heck with ALPA and those with secret agendas. Lets get DAL a union that will preserve the profession and take care of "us." You know this needs to happen, I and about half the list know it needs to happen. FPL and selling your soul to the devil is not a better life than "just flying the line."
I agree.
Put your management hat on, here is your option:
Option A [Old PWA]: If you want more of those awesome 76 seaters, super premium jumbo regional jets, then you can have 255 of them; BUT:
- You have to give up all of those 70 seaters (six seats smaller than the 76 seaters... 6... 6 seats...)
- You have to increase mainline back up from 720ish jets today to 767 jets and then continue adding to a little over 800 jets. Freaking expensive as hell man! Then if you didn't want those because all you wanted was the 76 seaters, you'd have to park them and furlough. Holy cow.
- If you do both of those things, you can have 255 super premium jumbo regional jets. The ones 88 drivers have to look up to as they taxi by.
Well doesn't that suck? I hear ya. Here's a better option, Option TA 2012:
- How many super premium regional jets do you want? 70? Would that do? Okay.
- You can have 70 more 76 seaters.
- You don't have to park any 70 seaters. So now you go from 255 to 325 jumbo regional jets and 153 super premium jumbo regional jets to 223 super premium jumbo regional jets.
- You don't have to increase the size of mainline, if you don't want to, your choice, up to you, do you what you want, you're free, run free, FREEDOM!
- Instead of having to increase mainlines size, just tie the requirement to the 717s you are going to buy anyways because Lord knows, you don't get a deal like that but once in a lifetime. So we'll add those to the fleet if you give up the mainline fleet requirement. After all, you wouldn't want use to pump n dump would you?
Winning. When someone says that's not a good deal, just say the 50 seaters that are killing you and that you don't want, are leaving. DCI that grew too much is now shrinking because it needs to badly, good deal! Worth the compromise.
That's Bi-winning. But if someone says, are we really growing? How do we know that? Tell them "of course we'll grow."
Tri-winning.
[/URL]