Originally Posted by
vprMatrix
Hey Alfa,
You are correct that the study derived it statistics from Form 41. And I understand that the numbers may not be 100% accurate. However looking at multiple years they give a good indication of the numbers.
As for you belief that the numbers don’t account for augmented crews I cannot say for sure based on the data in the study however I have a feeling you are right. For sure, Southwest’s numbers are higher than Delta's but then they are better than everyone else’s numbers. Still, Southwest’s numbers are only 64 hours/month for 2007 (and no other airline is near that number) which is lower than you show Delta’s numbers for July 08. Again, if the Form 41 numbers are correct.
Things to take into account when finding where this time goes are MIL pilots flying partial schedules, RES pilots, Sick time, Vacation time, Instructor pilots, Management pilots, ALPA leaves, Initial and Recurrent Training, SILs (at Delta), Trip Credits, etc, etc.
For fun take a look at the % of pilots on RES for May in ATL in these categories 777, 765, 7ER-A, 73N-B, and MD88.
I could be wrong but I believe more pilots than your 6,175 are being paid by Delta and would be counted when doing an average pilot block hour report.
One thing is for sure, numbers can be made to say just about anything. I can agree that my 650 number may be a little low.
My numbers included any pilot that was available for any flying in the month, including partial month leaves, all training, ALPA leaves. It excludes SIL's (which were 0 in both months) and Management which was 17 and instructors which was 63. All the rest are in there.
Delta is now close to or equal to Southwest in productivity. I know it is hard to believe but it's true. Due to the higher variation in block hours (more international flying) Delta has some months below Southwest and some months better than Southwest. On average it's pretty close. This ain't your father's Delta.