Originally Posted by DAL 88 Driver

Look. You either subscribe to the idea of "pattern bargaining" or you don't. I don't... at least not to the degree you and guys like Alfa do. I think it's but one of many factors that affect us and not by any means the sole determinant of what we're able to get.

But let's go with your beloved pattern bargaining theory. Primarily because of the success of our company, our pilot group has been in a better position than anyone else in the industry to achieve gains. Like it or not, we've been in a leadership position. If we had come out of bankruptcy and immediately made it clear to all concerned that restoration was our goal, I think we'd be further along than we are now. That's just my opinion (because there's no way to know since we didn't try it), but it's an opinion based on the knowledge that it's almost impossible to achieve something difficult and substantial without first defining it as the objective, formulating a plan to achieve it, and then executing the plan with resolve. That's Success 101. We have not done that. In fact, just the opposite, our leadership in DALPA have poo-poo'd the idea every chance they get. I don't think it's a stretch at all that we've set a low bar (relative to the objective of restoration), set the tone for our industry, and as a result, made it more difficult for other pilot groups to "pattern up" to anything like restoration. We have been in the leadership position in our industry. And we've set the tone and pretty well established that restoration is not the goal.