Originally Posted by
Timbo
Until you have a few thousand pilots on the list junior to you, you are very naïve if you are not worried.
We were hiring just a few months prior to 9-11, and we furloughed 400 guys a few months later, which eventually became over 1000 furloughs.
Think it can't happen again?
In 2001 the majority of Delta pilots were hired between 1985 and 2001. In 2014 the majority of Delta pilots were hired between 1985 and 2001. In 2000 Delta's load factor was about 74%, today Delta's load factor is about 84%.
I have about 500 people below me right now. A lot of Delta pilots are scheduled to retire soon and continuously for the next ten years. There is not much, if any, efficiency to be gained by putting more people in airplanes. In order for me to be furloughed Delta would have to shrink significantly, which would probably be due to a worldwide depression, or drones will have to be certified. There is absolutely nothing we could do in C2015 that would affect either of those possibilities.