Summary:

-The only news that was made was Furloughs being pushed back to Nov 1st. It was becoming increasingly obvious that it was in their best interest to do this. Many airlines have announced they aren’t furloughing at all. United recently led the way in pushing back furloughs. A deadline of Oct 1st would have killed any chance at big cost savings with an ALPA deal. It would have also killed any deal in Congress for more aid. Once employees are laid off, the world moves on a day later. He needs there to be something to be saved by Congress.

-Ed’s body language was on the uncomfortable side. He’s obviously aware of the turning opinion among pilots.

-He re-affirmed that SILs were cancelled because it “wasn’t fair” and because they didn’t offer enough savings. They continue to compare pilots to other work groups at Delta rather than pilot groups at other airlines to justify their decision. Imagine if in Sec 6 if we pattern bargained with Gate Agents, or Senior Vice Presidents.. Doesn’t work that way, pilots have always been negotiated with in context to their peers at other airlines.

-The biggest none answer was to a simple question as to how much CARES ACT money was left. A pilot posted a detailed data sheet proving that at least $1B has to be left. Ed himself said payroll was down 40% YOY. He didn’t answer the question, just said all the money was gone and “accounted for”. Followed up claiming they were “in compliance”. No surprise on the None answer, it’s obvious they’ve pocketed the payroll money to bolster other parts of the business.

-With regard to the last no furlough proposal, he said make no mistake, it is calling for sacrifice.

-He made an appeal directly to the 1,721 to contact their reps and demand they make a deal.

-Pilot payroll so far is down 12%, said other groups are down 40%. Moderator ignored the question asking how many non pilot leaves were earning more money in federal unemployment while on leave.

-Ed said they turned down the gov loan because they wanted SkyMiles program as collateral. He said they decided to take that collateral and raise 9B instead of the 5B being offered by the gov, and in result ended paying a slightly higher interest rate.