Carl is 100% correct. It's not about recouping our losses. I used the investment analogy to make a point. I wasn't saying it's a perfect apples to apples analogy to what we're going through.

I figure the average Delta pilot who's been here for the past 10 years has contributed (through pay cuts, benefit losses, and stagnation) an average of $100K per year to Delta's recovery. That's $1 million per pilot! Pretty generous contribution to help your employer get through a bad spot! And nobody I know of (including myself) is saying we should be repaid for what we've already contributed. We're just suggesting it should be made right going forward.

Our industry has been significantly restructured in a way that should result in greater stability with more consistent profits. Our company is clearly the leader in terms of running a good airline and in terms of profits. Pilot costs are relatively small in the grand scheme of things. Full restoration of our buying power could probably be accomplished by netting something like $3 or $4 more per passenger. They invented $25 bag fees out of thin air and have no problem collecting them. I'm not buying that they couldn't find a way to net $3 or $4 more to stop paying us as if the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. But right now, they just don't have to. Why pay more for pilots when the pilot's representation constantly indicates that they're just fine with things the way they are?