Tomcat

Hey guys,

not taking sides.... just wanted to throw this out there..... I was hired at Delta (my dream job) in July 2000. That was after 5 years in engineering school, 10 years flying Tomcats at Miramar (I was lucky, and it was a blast), 5 1/2 years in corporate aviation (loved it), then Delta. On Sept 11, 2001 we had 10,400 pilots on our seniority list. Furloughs started in October, I was on furlough for 2 1/2 years. While I was on furlough, Delta's mainline lost 4000 pilot jobs, almost all of which were shifted to ASA, Comair, Skywest, Chitaqua (sp?), Shuttle America. This created unlimited opportunity to young pilots coming into the industry. I didn't touch my first high performance aircraft until I was 24, which is the age that many pilots are making their first Captain job in a regional jet. This has been a great time for the regionals, and a great time for new pilots to move into the industry.

Here's the problem.... When I came to Delta, ASA, Comair, Skywest, etc. were stopping off points on the way to the majors for many. Many pilots still had aspirations on that dream job!!!! It was worth investing $60,000 - $100,000 in your education as a pilot. Most of us have the same dreams.... have a great flying job, get stabilized in our careers, then buy a house, have a family, be able to take care of you or family, have an enjoyable career, retire and have a comfortable retirement. That dream is becoming more difficult to acheive. Now the Regionals have transitioned from a "stopping off point" to a career. Under Delta's current proposal, the Delta pilot group will receive a 51.5% paycut in less than one year - 31.5% Dec '04 and 19.5% next month. When loss of benefits, disability, scheduling and retirement is considered the paycut is actually around 70% in one year.

Okay.... before I get slammed, please understand I'm not saying poor me, at this point, it's just business. Delta knows that mainline pilots can be replaced by "contract" pilots and now we're in a race to the bottom. Where ever you started your dream, whatever you've done to get here, it's been difficult, it's been expensive, we've spent Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, anniversaries, weekends on the road. We spend half of our lives on the road and have asked our loved ones to understand, as we would be good providers for them. But now the industry is at a point where personally I think and hope that our pay will not go any lower. Companies have pitted pilot groups against each other.... e.g. who at Delta will fly the RJ70 cheaper? ASA, Skywest, Comair.... How about the 90 seater? Delta mainline, ASA, Comair, Skywest, Shuttle America. How many of you would fly a 767 or 777 for $90 per hour? The mainline companies have done a masterful job of turning us all against each other. My hope is that we can stabilize our careers and they can grow with the projected demographics of the industry. I hope all of you can have a stable financial future.

When I returned from my 2 1/2 year furlough, it was the first time in my adult life that I had not flown and I'll tell you that the first time I lined up on the runway in Salt Lake City and pushed the throttes up, I was smiling like a 5 year old kid....... I was the same kid that spent all of his days staring into the sky and thinking how cool it would be to fly that jet that was laying a contrail across the sky. So here's my wish for all of you..... I hope you can all have careers that you enjoy as much as I do mine. I hope that all of you can make a solid living for your family, buy that home, have children, send them to college and have a great retirement....... For that to happen, we all need to start working together a little bit more.

Man, it's been so cool this far, whether I was in a F-14 over Iraq, Citation VII coming out of Pensacola at sunset, Piper Tomahawk teaching young guys how to fly, or taking a soldier home on Christmas eve to be with his family in a B737. Hopefully 15 more years of flying with the airlines, then I hope I can fly relief supplies around Africa in a Cessna 185. Support the pilots that love general aviation, mentor the young pilots coming into corporate or the airlines. Don't forget your love of flying, pass it along..... remember, we're all in a brotherhood. Best to all!!!! Respectfully, Tomcat