Originally Posted by
keenster
Do not forget your Delta history of 100s of your pilots retiring early i think up to 1500-2000 guys giving the Delta guys there now a great move up in positions that you would not have had they not retired early. This did not happen on the NWA side. WE still have most all of our older guys including a lot of over 60 guys now. Cut off the top 1000 guys at old NWA and move every one up and you would not have a guy like me with 24 years seniority waiting to get a widebody capt seat. We did not want this merger nor are we moving bases and aircraft around. It is your and our new company DELTA that is calling the shots so put the blame where it belongs-----they are calling the shots not south guys or north guys.
We are just along for the ride and it is going to be bumpy for a while. Every guy here can tell you what he is loosing somehow. I have a long list but I will not bore you with it because I know you don't really care. Good luck to us all!!!
Originally Posted by
newKnow
I wanrt to start off by saying I don't have any real numbers handy to refute your statement, but I will say that I think it misses part of the story. I'm fairly sure percentage-wise f-DAL had more widebody positions than f-NWA. But, probably notso much that you can say that NWA wan't a widebody airline. I think the real difference you are seeing, to a certian extent, the mindset of the groups.
I think for a larger portion of the NWA group, widebody international stuff is king. So, I think part of the disparity you are seeing is that more senior f-NWA guys bid widebody international stuff over everything else.
Just using my NWA seniority as an example:
I've been here over 14 years.
3 years ago was the first time I cold have held 320A.
2 1/2 years ago was the first time I could hold 744B.
So, I know just a few years ago, for six months the bottom 320 captain at NWA could not hold 744 FO. It's probably been that way off and on since I've been here.
When I was on the 757, I flew with a handfull of captains who would contemplate bidding 744 FO. I know of one guy, for sure, who did it.
Also, at a certain point in longeivty, our 747 s/o's made more than our 757 FO's and our 744 FO's made more than our DC9 CA's.
So, it's not so much that we didn't have the widebody positions, it's just that we had more senior people who wanted them.
TJMTC.
Whatever happens, like Keenster said, good luck to us all.
New K Now
Keenster, I never once blamed anyone at NWA. All I said was that NWA pilots are going to make out like bandits compared to the DAL pilots, and that is clearly true. I realize we're discussing old stuff here and nobody agrees.
It makes no difference what happened before the merger and what move-ups DAL pilots enjoyed before. The reality is, when the merger was announced, Delta had 240-ish widebodies and Northwest had 140-ish. This is why DAL had fellas with lower seniority numbers on bigger equipment.
Reality is, NWA pilots got a big pay raise and access to way more widebody positions than the DAL pilots did (particular those that weren't fenced). And since there are NWA pilots who've been waiting a long time chomping at the bit to get their hands on big metal, now we see how DAL pilots are going to lose in the long term.
NewKNow and to everyone else at NWA who feels disparaged by my comment. I apologize. Of course NWA was a widebody airline, my comments came off wrong.
When the MOAB results is announced, we'll see how each side makes out.