Originally Posted by
Winston Smith
I'm curious to find out how many of the NWA pilots hired in the last "boom" (as short as NWA's "boom" was compared to DAL's) were rejected by DAL's "outlandish" process first (which we should be able to ascertain)...and how many of them were hoping for DAL and got an interview/job with NWA instead (we can only speculate on that number).
Easy, I'm not trying to knock on the 15 guys hired at NWA who actually wanted to live in an NWA hub, and for whom NWA was #1 on the list. I bet they're not good poker players.
I'm pretty sure any sane guy not living in an NWA hub would have rather been hired at DAL (better pay, better DC plan, better EVERYTHING).
Hopefully this will be on the arbitrators' radar at some point.
Ok, I'll shoot. I wanted to live in a NWA hub, so NWA was high on my list for that reason. However, there were many desirable things about NWA that would have made them probably my number one choice regardless among legacies (which was my only interest for variety). #1: Attrition. NWA was on the verge of experiencing attrition in which half of the seniority list would be forced into retirement in 10 years. #2: A dominant presence in the Asia market, which is projected to experience growth unlike any other market in the world. #3: They're making a profit, more than any other legacy. Look at the valuations, NWA is valued about what DAL is valued at but is 2/3 the size. This was/is crucial, your future contracts are only going to be as good as your company is profitable #4+: Lots of small things, like I prefer the more laid back culture they have (things like hats optional). Commuter clause. Trip trading. Their bidding system. Just off the top of my head.
Really nothing excited me about DAL except their first year rates were more acceptable. I don't have a burning desire to fly a widebody and change 5 timezones a day for ~10% more pay than a narrowbody. I'm all about QOL. Future rates weren't a huge issue since they were both bankruptcy contracts and would be amended 5 times over my career.
Also, I ran into several of the "15 NWA newhires" who either turned down a job or an interview at DAL. I never met one NWA newhire that was turned down at DAL, though I doubt they'd advertise that. I do know of 1 NWA interviewee who got shot down and ended up at DAL. I don't know many people.
Hope that helped grasp the concept that DAL is not the end all be all for many of us.