Originally Posted by
overqualified52
Yea, agreed. They aren’t going to “ditch” the Endeavor Employees and just take the planes. It would cost them millions extra in training costs. Plus I’ve seen some pretty “poor quality” pilots and FA’s on the Delta side too. Many people slip through the cracks of OTS hiring as well. Gimme a break.
You mean like they did to Comair and ASA? When they shut them down, took the planes and gave them to other regionals? The pilots all lost their jobs.
What's old is new again. Hearing senior lifers at Endeavor make these sweeping predictions reminds me of the senior lifers at Comair and ASA who were sure they were going to be walk up 767 captains. They got nothing. So will you.
The biggest impediment to a staple job is the fact that Endeavor being a different certificate, Delta would have to run every Endeavor pilot through indoc and sim training to do things "the Delta way" on the Delta certificate. That's an FAA requirement. Delta doesn't have the training capacity for that, and won't for a long time. And why would they bother? They can just hire off the street and get the pilots without having to park the RJs for an unknown period of time while the Endeavor pilots are training. Meter them you say. Why? They could just hire new pilots instead and not have a seniority quagmire. Also, with a staple you'd get DUI Dan, the 30 year Express I/Pinnacle/Endeavor pilot who couldn't ever get hired anywhere, turned down the flow because of golden handcuffs, and is now looking for a life boat. I'm sure he'll be a joy in the sim.
No, most likely, Delta will continue to contract out the RJ flying as long as they can. They'll continue to take the profitable routes to mainline with 717s and 220s. When the regionals are no longer viable, they'll shut them down and give the pilots some sort of preferential interview. The CRJs are getting long in the tooth anyhow, even the late model 900s.
One last thought - a staple job would require negotiating an LOA which must go to MEMRAT. I don't see the Delta pilots approving that since half the seniority list spent a decade at the regionals and want nothing to do with flying a beat up CR9 for less money than a 717 and overnighting in Valdosta or Dothan after a 5-7 leg day again.