This right here.

Pass priorities are always an emotional topic but this isn't something that is in our contract. Its easy to forget that Mr. "Retention Bonus" himself was the one who gave (or signed off on at least) the bulk of the current pass benefit structure we enjoy today, and around the same time as that came unlimited jumpseats. Not to give him too much credit, as pass bennies and jumpseat privileges were on an upward trajectory industry wide anyway of course.

If I had to guess the reason for the recent change, which by all accounts appears to have taken all sides by surprise, I'd wager to say the HMFBIC's (head master finance beancounters in charge) did it to facilitate more pilots getting to work in a no cost (to them) kind of way. Fewer missed trips, fewer commuter clause invocations (I assume they have one), etc.

Is the change right or wrong? Is it a courageous statement of equality and justice for 9E, or is it a stinging rebuke of a lifetime of dedication and service for DL retirees? IMO the real answer is neither, because neither group "owns" the benefit contractually. Things have been so good for so long that no one has felt the need to spend any "negotiating capital" on it, other than possibly commuter clauses. Its been mostly (almost completely) left to the mercies of management, and so they've made this one small change to grease the gears a little at their largest and WO regional.

It wasn't personal, it was just business.