This statement keeps getting repeated and is just false. First, almost every NWA pilot stayed on the NWA work rules throughout 2009, so when people say they took a pay cut because of DAL work rules it doesn't make sense. Second, if you remember, in June of 2008, the NWA MEC signed a Furlough Mitigation letter to prevent furloughs due to the DC-9 and 747F block hour reductions. Part of that furlough mitigation was an agreement for NWA pilots to fly fewer hours to keep pilots working. In fact, that block hour reduction got spread out to the DAL pilots through balancing 757 hours. So we all got fewer hours in 2009 which was acceptable, but to hear that you got screwed in the deal rings a little false in my mind. If you wanted to fly more hours in 2009, you should not have signed that furlough mitigation letter and furloughed pilots. That doesn't sound like a good trade in my mind.

Finally, in the twelve months before the merger, NWA pilots average 12 MINUTES more pay per MONTH than DAL pilots. I don't know if you got like $5,000 per hour more for those 12 minutes but if not, there was no statistically significant difference between the two contracts in terms of hours paid.