Ferd,
I completely understand it ain't easy. And I know you're not ComAir. I am trying to understand the reasoning and "fairness" issue from the other side.
As I understand the ratio method, the bottom guys on each list will be the bottom guys on the merged list. If you're in the bottom one percent at NWA you'll be in the bottom one percent of the merged list, regardless of when you were hired.
I don't believe any integration method can account for all the possible variables and be "fair" to everyone. Coming within one half of one percent seems pretty close to me.
One point I was trying to illustrate in my earlier post is that while NWA has aircraft that are larger than DAL's biggest, They also have aircraft that are smaller than DAL's smallest.
If NWA's pilots think that their 747-400 guys should hold the lions share of the most senior positions (because they have the biggest aircraft), doesn't it then follow that they should hold the lion's share of the most junior positions because they have the smallest aircraft as well?
Personally, I don't believe for a second that the merged company will continue to operate hubs in CVG and MEM. I'm really not sure about the DC-9 situation.
I think DAL would dearly like to have a 100 seat jet. As it is now, our regional partners can operate a "limited" number of 70 and 76 seat jets (and an unlimited number of 50 seaters) and then we jump up to mainline DAL where the smallest is 142 seats.
That leaves a big hole in terms of serving certain size markets. I (again, personal opinion) don't believe for a second that it's cheaper (on a fully allocated cost basis) to operate two 76 seat jets, or three 50 seat jets than it is to operate a single 737-800 or MD-90.
This may be the reason to continue operating NWA's DC-9 fleet, because it gives DAL the opportunity to better match aircraft size with a given market.
Unfortunately DAL's history of past mergers is one in which they acquire assets, route, employees, etc and then don't maximize the opportunities that they sought. For example, when I was hired (in 1990) DAL was the largest carrier at LAX (by virtue of buying Western Airlines) Now, we're maybe the sixth largest. We squandered the opportunities that Western provided so that we could add more even flights out of Atlanta.
I sincerely hope that DAL's new management team has lost the Atlanta-centric mentality that has permeated here.