I like you and the other NWA guys on this board, and I wish you all were on the SLI negotiating committee for your airline. If their opener had not been to put over 1,000 DAL guys (pre-9/11 hires) below you, perhaps something could've been worked out to the benefit of everyone, and that is surely the way we would've liked it as well. DAL showed up with a reasonable starting position and NWA wanted to shoot for the moon, because that is all your old battle-weary captains know how to do from years of Republic strife.

I think the NWA negotiating committee's eagerness to push for arbitration and NWA management's immediate desire to re-engage without "pilot treats" pretty much sums up who has to most to gain from this and who needs it more. Yes, both companies bring airplanes, equity, and debt to the table--and you can debate the relative positions of each--but the fact is that under the original proposal as much, if not more, of the "combined goodie dollars" were going to be spent bringing NWA up to Delta's pay, work rules, and B-plan than on the increases that would then be realized by the whole group. Both pilot groups should have been working diligently to consummate this deal because it is in the best interests of both airlines to get it done, but NWA's negotiators came in off the mark and never drifted significantly from there.

Steenland wanted Anderson to shove this down all of our collective throats without any incentives whatsoever to punish both pilot groups for not getting along on SLI integration. It is only because the scope clause of DAL's contract prevents a "merger lite" under a holding company that we are in the position to get anything in exchange for negotiating that point with management, for without the Delta pilots' consent, there can be no "merger lite." Please understand that while my predecessors lost over 50% of their pay and their pensions post-9/11, they held firm to that scope language, in effect paying for it in real dollars, and they are entitled to whatever price they can force management to pay for it now, if that's how they want to do this merger.

As an aside, I am sure this is the root of the 100-seat scope rumor posted earlier. Scope is more than RJ's, and in this case, it's about holding companies.

Nobody at DAL wants to staple NWA pilots, and nobody wants a B-scale. I know this might be hard to believe, but there isn't that kind of animosity here, and we'd like it to stay that way. Former-Pan Am, Western, and Northeast pilots are pretty indistinguishable from Delta pilots, and I haven't heard one talk about how they were "screwed in the merger" yet, and I've been flying with ex-Delta guys for a lot longer than I've been with Delta--and many weren't "native-Delta." DALPA isn't in the business of gaining at the expense of our soon-to-be brothers, and you can rest assured they're not going to start now, regardless of how this may look to you at the moment. We are going to be flying with you sooner or later when this thing goes from merger lite to merger, and we'd kind of like it to be harmonious.

However, if you think that the Delta pilots can just say "screw you, Anderson and Steenland, we're not doing your stupid merger lite" and this will all go away, you're kidding yourselves. As oil climbs and cash becomes scarce and airlines continue to fold, the time is fast approaching where the shareholders and boards of directors are going to force a full-blown merger on us all, and you can be sure it's not going to come with pay increases of any kind for anyone. By locking in a modest pay and benefits increase now, the Delta group is effectively moving the fulcrum from which we will all negotiate our combined contract when the merger is fully completed a few years down the road.

You guys have said (as have we) that you'd rather go it alone so you can take advantage of your 787 deliveries and your age-60 retirements. Well, that's in effect what we're apparently getting. Once this all shakes out, we won't have to argue over whose crystal ball is more accurate.

Somebody said "whipsaw," and believe you me, that is probably the most popular word on the DALPA forums these days, with the possible exception of "BOHICA." Nobody wants that, least of all the Delta guys. Here's why: Delta is actually taking 777 deliveries at the moment, while the 787 prototype hasn't even flown yet. So trust me, we have the greater potential for loss if we don't tread very carefully on how we relax our scope language to allow the merger lite. We don't want a 777 delivered this year to the holding company to be offered to NWA pilots to be flown at your 747 rates. And we're with you on not wanting 787's to show up being offered to the lowest bidder.

I have no inside knowledge (the Delta MEC is very tight-lipped and apparently doesn't even know the phone number to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune), but I have to believe that these guys are crafting this deal with extreme caution. Just speculating here, but I imagine clauses that require all new aircraft to come to DAL--or at least to be crewed at the higher DAL rate and work rules--and that nullify the agreement if either of our groups opens Section 6 independently, providing a definite timeline for integrating contracts and seniority lists.

The bottom line is that the economy is in a downturn and loaner capital is increasingly scarce. The last few standing get the government bailout and are rewarded with re-regulation. This merger is probably going to happen one way or another. If the window of opportunity for the NWA MEC to get on board and have something to show for it in the near term even remains partially open, it's closing fast. You might want to talk to your reps soon.