First of all, and I don't intend this to sound confrontational, it is our flying to take back. DCI flying exists as an exception in Section 1 of the Delta PWA. And yes, we absolutely want it back - some more than others.
As to the second part I bolded above, no I don't think DCI pilots should be shown the door. The question is how to do it so nobody is "harmed."
The main problem that
might create this opportunity is the lack of pilots at the DCI carriers. If we can somehow leverage that into fixing the company's staffing problem, we
might have a chance of undoing some of the evil that has been done to this profession. Bar points out that we need to return this to a career worth pursuing. To do that, there must be a path (not the current dead end) to an actual career. Enough of this BS about paying dues.
That said, there is no way in hell this thing gets off the ground if there is any form of assertion by the DCI pilots that they merit an integration above the bottom of the mainline lists. Call it arrogant, or whatever you want, but it is true. It will be opposed to the end of time by the mainline MEC's - so how do we get around that?
Each group needs to be stroked to make this happen. It would have to be something like this:
1. Management - they need to protect their feed, ensuring that the small jets are staffed properly. They also will require (especially the first mover) that any solution does not jack their costs substantially higher than the other big Legacies.
2. Mainline Pilots - need to be protected against any further career stagnation. Any solution that doesn't at least remain "career neutral" will be met with overwhelming resistance. Most would love to see the flying brought home - for furlough protection, upgrade opportunities, and even some for rehabilitation of this profession.
3. Regional Pilots - they need a career. They're sick of the carrot and the whip. Any solution, especially one that will attract new entrants to the profession, must include a mainline seniority number and all the pay/benefits that go along with it.
One solution: To solve management's math problem (Slowplay
) the costs can't get out of control, at least not initially. Delta would likely have to wait until the performance gets so bad that the regional contracts can be cancelled - it's unlikely the regional management teams will just give it up. Once they go all Freedom on us, Delta could reclaim their contracts and offer to assume leases of the airframes that they aren't already on the hook for.
The pilots currently flying them would be offered employment as a newhire on a temporary B scale (at least it's not C-scale right?) They would receive a Delta ID and seniority number, and would continue flying the airplanes at their current rates. This would allow the cost to be increased over a period of time to the Delta PWA rates, at which point the B scale would dissolve.
Of course this gets more expensive for Delta, but they also save in all the ways that have been pointed out of the past 20 years (redundant crews, management layers, etc, etc). Importantly, the brand benefits, employees are more motivated because they now have equity in the brand, and these pilots have a career to look forward to. Mainline pilots are happy that the flying is back, and they weren't harmed during the process.
There are many details to work out, such as how to decide the seniority list order when folding in the multitude of DCI carriers. The only way I see to do that is to determine the number of pilot slots being absorbed from each carrier and then start offering the spots to each group's #1 on a rotating basis until everyone is tacked onto the list. There will undoubtedly be some that are ****ed, but that's inevitable.
Of course everything I just typed is an academic exercise until Delta/United/AA decide that they want to play in this game. As Bar pointed out earlier, there is a first-mover advantage that will lock in a great percentage of the carrier's required work force. If Delta were to pull this trigger first, it could very well leave AA and/or United way up a creek WRT staffing...