Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
I believe the flows and SSP's should never have been negotiated. Those which exist should be sunset at the earliest opportunity.
The flows and SSP do nothing but facilitate cheap outsourcing. The programs do nothing to benefit Delta pilots.
The Compass flows are a bit different. NWA had solid scope prior to bankruptcy. The only jets above 50 seats were the 35 Avros (69 seats I believe). The Avros could not be replaced, once they were gone, they're gone. The rest of the commuter fleet consisted of a limited number of 50 seaters, larger number of CRJ-200s restricted to 44 seats and the Saabs.
During bankruptcy, the company was going to get some scope relief. NWA ALPA wasn't going to give it without giving the jobs to the furloughed folks. The existing regionals were not going to give the furloughed NWA pilots super seniority (seats to the new larger airframes) so NWA instead created Compass. These jobs were for current furloughees and also FUTURE furloughs. This created an excellent layer of furlough protection we still enjoy today. The flip side to this flow back was the flow through which was sunsetted with the transfer of ownership. Those who interviewed and were given jobs at Compass had (I believe) a 3 year minimum time there then a guaranteed flow after at a metered pace. Those who interviewed had roughly the same backgrounds and passed the same interview as those at NWA. Since the sale of Compass, the flow is no longer in place with the exception of those grandfathered, but the flowbacks are still there giving us an effective layer of furlough protection.
I could very well be off on a detail or two, but this is basically how it went down. In a sense, this flowback does benefit Delta pilots.