Originally Posted by
CLazarus
Timbo, you gave an outstanding background explanation of why pilots would naturally hate virtual bases (especially ones senior enough to bid the trip in your example). I happily bid for trips with deadheads myself. But, it also underlines why management everywhere wants to find ways to make VBs happen. There is an awful lot of money being paid for senior guys to basically do nothing more than nap. Meanwhile, as we are all aware, this is an incredibly cutthroat business and the legacies face competitors everywhere with minimal labor costs and work rules that pale in comparison. In the long run, I don't think being consistently paid to do effectively nothing is any more tenable than the three man cockpit was. In good times we legacy pilots can get away with it, but when the next downturn hits I imagine it might be the easiest concession to swallow.
On a side note, I think Allegiant is a prime example of VBs or such taken to an extreme. I absolutely think management there does it to abrogate seniority and weaken the pilot group while maximizing shareholder returns. Definitely a cautionary model.
Disclaimer - I don't have a dog in this particular fight so please spare me any flames. I hope you guys reach a TA soon that is overwhelmingly approved.
There are times when the airline industry could be considered cutthroat. The duration of this contract will not be one of those times. Post-consolidation with oil where it is and will likely stay, we are printing money and handing it out to shareholders. Our domestic competitors, who are being paid significantly more than we are, spend MUCH more revenue on servicing debt - where do we see the Delta advantage for that? The arguments about Delta needing to not pay people to do "nothing" ring so hollow, it's embarrassing to even read your post. I've never been paid to do nothing, and few are paid to "consistently" do so. I have, on the other hand, been stuck on a long layover NOT being paid to do nothing other than sacrifice a day of my life away from my family that I will never get back. Dead heading is a necessary evil if network wants the flexibility to do whatever it wants with little to no notice - it's a minor cost to facility exceptional and unprecedented profitability. It's also the result of Delta not being willing to fund company moves (like in any other industry) should they decide to actually open real bases. It's a fallacy that such costs even register in the grand scheme of things. I'm not flaming - just identifying numerous ways you're carrying management's water. Save it for a DeltaNet "news" article!