ACL and others,

After flying 13+ hours, I do not expect Delta management to make a formal announcement until Thursday. After all, the just put in a half day of work, flew 13+ hours, then had to get to downtown Tokyo to announce the JAL/DAL deal, if you can believe the media. I expect the fact that Anderson and Co are on there way, its agreed too. The will not get to their hotel until 7-8PM Tokyo time. I expect the next day over for them is making sure any agreed to "agreement" can withstand a JAL backrupcy filing.

I think it is a bit early to be ecstatic about the deal.... Spending 1 Billion dollars in cash and commitments for a bankrupt airline does not help our (pilots) case going forward to Contract 2012. With JFK Capitol improvements (terminal), the commitment (now?) to JAL, and the corporate debt the DAL has to either pay back or refinance in the next 3 years, a play for Alaska with surly lead the company to plead poverty at contract time.

A Guam rumor of up to 300 pilots and 21 737's does concern me. If Guam is a new opportunity to expand and fight for market share into China from the closest US soil, is one thing, but if is due to loss of wide body flying south and west of NRT, the every DAL pilot should be concerned.

Until the DAL MEC conveys to ALL of us what the plan is, I am cautious about what to expect. Narita is no Frankfurt. The 5th freedom rights allowed NWA to be the 3rd largest "Japanese" carrier in Japan after JAL and ANA. This "good corporate deal" might not be so good for pilots.

We shall all see. Lurked long enough.