Originally Posted by
JobHopper
This statement is so misleading I just have to comment.
Earlier this year Nu posted a question: is our measurement of progress from the bar at the time of the merger or the new lower bar post-merger? I responded to that post and wondered if anyone had the actual numbers on the date of merger. Someone did.
Captains in Sept, 2008: 5353
I then took the March, 2013 category list and hand counted every single Captain position in the company. I included everyone - instructors, management, sick - because a Captain is a Captain.
March 2013: 5086
We've had 2 AEs since then:
March: +77 new Captain (non-displaced) positions
June: +54 new positions
Total June: 5217 Captains
We are still 136 positions below the time of merger. To claim 300 recent upgrades is disingenuous, at best. And therein lies the problem: DALPA and its protagonists refuse to acknowledge any problems or shortcomings. That lack of honesty and transparency is a huge catalyst for the angst in this pilot group.
And for the record, I am in my 9th year on an ALPA committee. I'm proud to say I've helped salvage more than a few careers. Consider that before blindly labeling me anti-this or pro-that. I want what's best for this group.
You are also trying to expand the argument beyond what it was. The question was raised that when the MEC Chairman said last year that there would be upgrades for First Officers was that a lie or did it come true. The answer is it came true.
So now you want to bring in some argument about what happened from 2008 on after a massive worldwide recession and the large increase in oil prices. That is a completely different argument and centers around macroeconomic factors. Airline ticket prices have been accelerating above the rate of inflation as the carriers are now charging enough to make a profit when oil prices stay this high. If you raise the price of a commodity, less people can buy it, that is simple economics. Couple that with a loss of discretionary income from a large recession and it's clear that the decline in air travel since 2008 had nothing to do with our 2012 contract.
Back to the central question. Did the aftermath of C2012 increase the share of domestic flying at mainline and decrease the share at DCI? Yes. Is that trend continuing and accelerating? Yes. Have hundreds of pilots upgraded following C2012? Yes.
So the comments made by the MEC Chairman have come true exactly as written. What happened since 2008, four years before that contact, is a completely different topic. Many things in this industry are far beyond the control of the union or even management. The question is what factors can you control and are they successful. There can be little doubt that C2012 will accelerate the trend of transferring flying back to mainline.