Originally Posted by
Denny Crane
Ok, gotta ask a question here....
Someone tell me if I'm reading this wrong. If the AF/KLM JV percentage drops below 48.5% then the 650,000 global minimum kicks in. What happens if there is some big deal that happens in Europe and both Delta and AF/KLM reduce flying drastically but Delta stays above the 48.5%. Effectively there is no 650,000 hour global minimum because we have not gone below the 48.5% minimum in the JV. Correct?
Denny
That scenario would mean demand for transatlantic travel would have gone down significantly. I don't think we should expect for flight schedule to stay the same unless you think company should fly empty airplanes around just to provide pilots with a job. This may workout in the short term but long term that's how a company winds up in bankruptcy court severely editing the labor contracts to a leaner cost structure.
I think we need to remember pensions at this company are gone and there is nothing the pilots can do to fix this. We will not even be allowed to strike because of our size (too big to fail=too big to strike). The environment that existed for pilots 20 years ago is something management doesn't ever want to return too. They were too expensive and as labor we must realize that executive compensation does not mean we can expect similar gains. There are few of them and thousands for us. The ceo gets a 5 million dollar raise that's the equivalent to a 40 cent raise for the pilots. My point in all this is that I think we must get realistic and look at the overal gain the TA provides. I really think it is an overall gain and the cost of returning to the table will outweigh the benefit.