Originally Posted by
vyperdriver
I'd recommend Delta reinstate retirement for guys say 3000 ish and above on seniority list or whatever a good number would be at the 60%FAE. That would preserve the young guys (if it got that bad), fix the deadzoners argument, ensure a lower training thrash, no furloughs, etc.
How solid would a DB be? This whole crisis in my opinion just validates the value of a 401K. Yes the markets are tanking and 401s are taking a hit. But seeing how quickly the airlines can turn from wildly profitable to disaster would anyone feel secure with a “promise” of a DB? I would not.
If we had enough folks dependent on a DB the company would use it as golden handcuffs to get us to gut our PWA to save the DB. How much value would a 60+ year old Pilot put on QOL items or pay vs protecting the DB? How about a 63 year old Pilot? How much would they be willing to give away to protect the DB at all costs? I don’t blame them, I would probably think the same way if I were in that situation.
Finally how hard would it be for the company to dump the DB in times such as these? In my mind this whole Coronavirus issue highlights the shortcomings of a classic DB. Could we perhaps come up with some kind of different DB that is not subject to being liquidated? I have heard guys mention an annuity in everyone’s name but I am not sure of how much that would cost. I just have a suspicion that if we currently had a DB the company would have a lot more leverage over the Pilot group than they currently do.
Scoop