Originally Posted by slowplay

Your history is inaccurate and incomplete.

3B6 was used to achieve the "Delta Dot." Leo didn't just threaten to park the 777 - he in fact did defer delivery on all but the 2 already operating aircraft. At the time we had 13 firm orders, 20 options and 30 rolling options for B777 aircraft. After 3B6 and C2K we wound up with a fleet of 8 (the 2 already in the fleet, 5 already in production and 1 inside the delivery cutoff line delivered in early 2002). The rest were cancelled.

Post C2k Delta furloughed 1310 pilots. We continued to take C2K pay increases that greatly inflated FAE for those at the top of the list. From 2000-2005 our pension went from 140% funded to 54% funded. C2K caused an overnight 20+% decrease in funding due to wage inflation. The rest was caused by low interest rates, an early retirement run on the bank, and investment returns during the recession.

The Delta C2K pay rates lasted until November 2004. The UAL rates only lasted until 2002(?). At USAirways they lasted a month. AMR, CAL, NWA never saw those rates. UPS, FedEx and SWA, three airlines that have been profitable throughout the last decade, have never matched those rates. 1060 of our furloughed guys never got a dime of those rates. And the early retirees took a haircut along with the rest of us when the pension was terminated.

So when we look back fondly on C2K, maybe we should do it in a more complete context. The payrates were great...for those on the property.