Originally Posted by
acl65pilot
Great points.
I will add that we do not need to fear reaching to far in our goals. IMO it is ok to ask for what we want.
As it states in flying the line, pro union pilots are also very pro company as well. It makes sense and is a short trip for pilots to want to see their company do well. It also makes sense to say that we want them to do will but not at our expense.
1113C stunk, it is behind us, and my position is that we should not fear another round of Ch11. I often wonder if that fear clouds some judgment.
Either way I agree with your points. Having the gun of 1113C pointed at your head is no place to be, and it is defiantly not a place you can negotiate from a position of strength.
I also agree that the players need to thin out. DAL made the correct decision in beating the competition to the punch. As our profit numbers will show, consolidation will help rationalize this industry. DAL choosing to do this in the worst recession in recent time will prove to be a strategic win. As we will shortly see, our competition will be dealing with major integration issues in a growth phase, and as a result will have a very difficult time keeping up the Delta. This will allow us and the company to step the game up. It is our time to take advantage of this rare opportunity. IMO it may be the first such opportunity to truly get ahead in this industry since deregulation.
Good post and I agree on all points. As much as I don't like to compliment management, I think this merger has been very well executed and will probably be a case study in business schools.
In an industry that has been notorious for mergers being difficult at best, this has (so far) gone extremely smooth. For that I give kudos to RA and company for having vision when most airline CEO's were happy to take their bonus and move on. Now I expect our pilot group to share in the benefits.
Other US airlines may have various strengths that will lead to profits, but none are as complete as the new DL system is. This network, if managed properly, has the potential to redefine the US airline industry.
None of this could have been possible without our cooperation. Say what you will about our union leadership (and I am not a huge fan), but they have put our pilot group in a position to succeed. When the profits come, I expect to regain what was given by this group to help put us in this position. We scratched management's back, time for them to scratch ours.