I for one am looking forward to the spring of 2014. The post merger consolidation will be done and the merged network infrastructure is built for sustainable growth. We will have new hires pushing us all up the list. By 2015 quite a few Delta pilots will occasionally have placed their hands on something they've not seen in a long time ... a new aircraft.

By summer, we will be almost short of pilots. Probably green slip city for the MD88/90, 717 crews. Every category will be working, even those who intended to be "on the job, retired." Crew Resources will have to get on the leading edge as these Captains decide to enjoy their time doing something other than disrupting their rest flying to oddball corners of the planet.

Sure that there will still be those with lots to complain about, but sure seems like good news for those of us who's goals are straightforward; flying, having a secure job, getting paid reasonably well (among the best in the profession) and having something to look forward to.

How does this relate to the DPA? Well, the DPA represents a lot of things, mostly frustration. If the metaphor is used of a frog in a boiling pot of water, perhaps the DPA supporters are simply more sensitive to the heat than the other frogs. Job insecurity, stagnation, demotion, furlough are horrible stressors for those effected and our union IS the easiest party to blame (after all they work for us and can't really fight back without running into the fact that, they work for us).

So, if there is an apogee for the DPA, this has to about be it. In the future, I think most pilots will be too busy flying, upgrading and enjoying the financial freedom that comes with good job security to complain.

Not all swans are white, but even if a black one is lurking, we are well positioned.