[quote=alfaromeo;444993]On the lists I have, I show that 15 years after the merger, in 2023, Delta will have retired about 2,850 pilots and Northwest will have retired about 2,600 pilots. Your pilot group is about 2000 pilots larger, so I would say that's MORE retirements for us.
In the short term, Northwest is losing dozens of airplanes with no replacements. You are losing more jobs than you have had pilots retire. Lots more. DL just took delivery of 737-700's and those deliveries are continuing. Starting in December, we have 6 777's being delivered. Those job gains will end up offsetting the jobs being lost from Northwest. I invite you to look at the 18 787s that NWA is getting, along with 50 more options. You may also need to consider the DC9 replacement that will be obtained. Compass is not the replacement, as it is a 76 seat airplane, not 100+ seat. Scope will not allow a 100+ seat airplane to go to a regional.
Northwest will soon have a large pay raise, how many pilots would have to retire to equal that amount of pay increase through seat movement? Not as many that will have to retire for me to make up what I'll lose from a slower upgrade to WB CA.
I see Northwest pilots talking about where they are going to be 10 or 15 years from, but ignore the huge economic benefits that are being delivered right now by coming into the DL system. Currently Delta has over 1,800 jobs that pay at or above your current A-330 rate. Huge economic benefits today mean nothing if I can't cash in on them as soon as I could at NWA.
There is a reason Northwest had to have a furlough mitigation letter, it is because they are going to have to furlough unless more pilots retire, they are over staffed by a lot. DL is talking about needing new hires very soon on a standalone plan. Do the math. Career expectations don't start 15 years from now. You have no proof that DL will need new hires very soon on a standalone plan. You don't know if there are plans for further domestic capacity reduction with a standalone plan, so you have nothing here.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad that these benefits are going to the Northwest pilots, but don't pretend they don't matter. Don't pretend that I'm only gaining and not losing in this deal. Bottom line, I'm losing things in this deal, not just gaining. Will those gains outweigh the losses? Only time will tell. But don't act like they don't matter.[quote]
I feel the long term survivability of the combined companies are better, but please stop acting like this is all gain and no loss for the NWA pilots. That is just not true.
Respectfully, Johnso29
Last edited by johnso29; 08-15-2008 at 05:16 PM.