Even your fact is very debatable slow. Correct that they were in better shape 1996 -2000, not by much though.

However, when you take the economy into context, it can be argued they are doing much better now.

Delta left BK protection in April of 2007. The Great Recession began with the housing bubble bursting at the same time of their exit. The bottom of the Great Recession was in 2009 and the recovery since has been weak with erratic job growth.

Several weeks ago, Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary stated that the U.S. is in a "secular stagnation" or a persistent state in which a depressed economy is the norm with episodes of full employment scarce.

Delta, during this difficult economic environment, has posted increasingly better numbers ever since their exit. Presently, their performance is nearing record levels again.

Most financial analysts would agree that performance like Delta has posted as of late is more remarkable than that posted from 96-00, which coincided with The Dot Com bubble. The historic speculative bubble flushed cash into the economy and made for an exciting and easy revenue environment for airlines at the time, read easy $$$.

Through the good stewardship of Richard Anderson, the unbundling of fees, and the pilots massive bankruptcy concessions in the form of significant work rule changes, pay, and voluntary termination of their pensions, Delta has excelled.

It is now time to finally close the gap on restoring our compensation levels, unless you believe Ed Bastian is correct, when he states to Wall Street and the public that, "pilot compensation has been permanently reset." Six years since emergence from BK and we are still not close.

In hindsight, our chance to significantly improve our compensation floundered when we were rushed by management and DALPA to sign the 4-8-3-3 contract.

We can not afford to make the same error the next time around. Delta is financially solid despite the economy and the next negotiation is critical. That is why this representational decision is imperative. The victor will be the one who understands this and capitalizes by communicating this to the membership.

Currently, with Moaks disciples and their practice of proactive engagement, it is difficult to determine whether DALPA has our interests or managements at heart. Another topic but very debatable when you follow the money.

All that being said, sadly I'm beginning to think that DALPA subscribes to Ed's beliefs.