Not bashing either, I'm just wondering where you got the information for this point. Do you have access to pilot base/home address info for both companies? Or is this just word of mouth and what you've observed over the years (ie people commuting to work on your flights, etc)? I myself have seen quite a few guys commuting from southern homes to northern bases, just curious.

We are sending 9's to the desert but they can always be brought back online (we still own them), and as far as advancement goes, we have 787s coming (at some point anyway) and also a higher percentage of older pilots who will be retiring sooner. Delta's aircraft arrivals and our attrition and aircraft orders may even the playing field in respect to advancement expectations. We don't yet know the long term plans for the DC9, but I believe it's still cheaper to operate them than lease new aircraft.