I think its a paradigm shift (pardon the cliche). For well over a decade there was absolutely no question that guys being awarded a Captain seat had the minimum required hours. No need to check anything.

Delta was burned, maybe surprised would be a better word when the A Bid results came out a while back and guys who were awarded A positions did not meet the minimums. From what I heard those guys were pay protected.

So now before being awarded a bid the company is checking first to avoid having to pay protect guys. No doubt DAL will flex its IT prowess and in a decade or two we will have 1980s software in place that can actually check on a guys qualifications before awarding a bid.

Scoop