Originally Posted by SawF16

Good discussion. First though, I'm not advocating LGB, I see it as some pros/some cons personally. The essence of what Johnso brought up is "will Delta pilots be harmed during a potential merger if 737-9 and A321s pay the same as the 75/76." I also have a big response to your above regarding who on our list benefits and who REALLY loses if we have a merger with Alaska and ONLY merge them into the 737 fleet IAW the type of integration I think you are referencing in lieu of a ratio, but it may be too long.

Instead, I'll play devil's advocate and assume yes, it is harmful to our pilot group to have the 737-9 and A321 pay the same as a 75/76 in the event of a merger with Alaska (or Jetblue/Spirit etc if you prefer). In that case, since we are just about the only carrier out there with MD-88s and one of the few with 717s, shouldn't we immediately begin petitioning the company to make any potential common types in a merger, such as the 73 and the 320 placed at the absolute bottom of our pay scale? If we as a union/company put pay rates on the M88 and 717 $20 per hour above any other narrowbody, wont we be able to prove financial damage IAW your logic above? That way we get to ratio anyone we would even theoretically merge with (except HAL with their 717s) way down at the bottom portions of our stovepiped list vs the upper portions of our stovepiped narrowbody list.

For that matter, shouldn't we also start demanding that the M-88 and 717 pay MORE than the 777/747 so that even if we have another merger with a widebody carrier they won't have access to the top regions of our seniority list?

Also went a bit long, thanks for the discussion!