Originally Posted by
First Break
The EDP costing debacle is 100% on the Company. They own the optomizer and it was incumbent upon them to accurately model the proposed changes to rotation construction. I know it's hard to believe their A-team in crew planning could mess up so badly. Ive heard the individual responsible is still employed. Let Delta be Delta. Garbage in, garbage out.
I have also heard a good portion of the 4% growth is coming from fully restoring RJ flying, which has been reduced since Covid.
Nonetheless, it is a dangerous game they are playing here. Rumored hiring doesnt cover attrition, let alone any amount of growth. Also lets not forget the increased vacation value on April 1 or the fully phased-in staffing formula changes coming by summer as well. I think summer 2025 will run warm dampened by the bow wave of unprecedented levels of hiring over the last several years. If they double down on silly and dont ramp it back up by EOY2025, summer 2026 will be nuclear. Just in time for contract negotiations to be in full swing. Hats off 2.0!
Agreed. Just anecdotal observations, but at least on the ER the rotations did get better initially after the new contract was signed. They were cleaner, less random DHs, less 4 leg days, less ugly penalty laps. That seemed to last about a year, then it's like they just said "screw it" and went back to their old ways, accepting to pay more for the same garbage trips they used to build. Now the 4 leg days are back with a vengeance, and you'll enjoy that FLL penalty lap after flying a transcon from California to ATL. Or fly your transcon to JFK first then ATL. Being so junior in seat I'm like a racoon and get to sort through all the trash to find something tasty on reserve, and end up flying lots of them. Not going to lie EDP has been incredibly lucrative for me last year. If I'm going to fly a garbage trip I'll definitely seek out one that has some, but it does get old after a while. Luckily at times an ugly trip with lots of EDP has saved me from getting it because someone senior will YS it.