Dear Fellow Delta Pilot,
This morning, Delta flight 9935 departed Toulouse, France bound for Minneapolis—without Delta pilots at the controls. Earlier this week, senior Flight Operations management notified the Association of its plans to violate the Pilot Working Agreement (PWA) Section 1 C. (SCOPE) by utilizing non-seniority list pilots (Airbus company) to operate new Delta A350 aircraft on the next three delivery flights from Airbus beginning today. Management's willful disregard of our PWA constitutes an unacceptable threat to the foundation of our PWA—and ultimately our jobs. This is not some minor issue that only impacts a handful of our fellow A350 pilots. Work rules and benefits mean little without SCOPE. Violations of our SCOPE language cannot be remedied solely through the Company's willingness to "pay" for it (like some IROP-instigated scheduling violations). This deliberate violation is another example of management's continuing hyper-focus on metrics and financials, pressing the operation towards the "red-line" at the expense of the front-line employees.

Management claims that it is necessary to "maintain the integrity of the operation" to use non-Delta pilot crews for aircraft delivery due to a shortage of available qualified A350 line check pilots, as well as their associated flight time issues. (Management prefers to limit LCP use for OEs.) We believe that better A350 training planning, especially for the LCPs, as well as the continued limited equipment substitutions to the 747, would have accomplished the scheduled flying and the delivery flights and avoided this situation. The Company's adamant refusal to consider other options highlights management's unwillingness to honor its contractual commitment to the Delta pilots.

To emphasize... the Company has other avenues to solve its A350 staffing problems but is choosing to violate the contract anyway. Accordingly, I directed that a cease and desist letter be delivered to the Delta Senior VP Flight Operations and that a grievance be filed immediately.

The Delta MEC will always oppose the outsourcing or loss of Delta pilot jobs—regardless of whether that threat is from the Middle East carriers (ME3), a joint venture (JV) partner or from Delta management itself.

On another note, the January bid packages will soon be available on DeltaNet. Pilots may notice a stark difference in the quality of rotation construction. The Rotation Construction Committee (RCC) notified the Delta MEC Administration that significantly fewer of the RCC's requested modifications to rotation construction would be honored. For more than five years, the RCC's suggestions have been incorporated into the monthly bid packages, at least to some extent. These recommendations represent the "quality of life" side of the rotation construction process. The Company has cited efficiency and cost cutting as reasons to minimize or disregard the RCC suggestions. This is expected to continue throughout 2018.

I'm certainly disappointed in these management decisions. While we perform our professional duties on behalf of our company to distinguish "the Delta difference," we expect management to make choices and take actions that recognize and facilitate that effort beyond slogans and platitudes. As C.E. Woolman said,

Goodwill pays dividends... and goodwill is an asset that won't show up on the balance sheet but is the most important factor in operating a successful airline.

These issues and the ones that I mentioned in last week's Thanksgiving Update, whether under the premise of cost cutting, intimidation or selective policy enforcement and contract interpretation, are casting doubt on management's continued commitment to this historic corporate principle.

We'll keep you updated.
Fraternally,

Bill Bartels, Chairman
Delta Master Executive Council