Bill,

I appreciate your optimism, and like you, I am always someone who is looking at the glass as "half full".

With this particular issue, the timing seems too coincidental. (No, I don't believe that black helicopters follow me around on my off days.) All I'm saying, and maybe my original post came across as a little too angry, is that if we allow the company to "hold us hostage" on the "new a/c instead of bigger pay raises" stance, we'll be severely disappointed when they again decide to "not replace the 100-seat marktet" at Delta/NWA. One in which they've been touting for the last 20 years that they've wanted to, but each timeline offered in the past has turned into empty promises.

The reason that I highlighted part of your post, is that you're right, they do need to replace our aging fleet. NOTHING, says that they need to replace Delta's aging fleet with "mainline metal". Instead of accepting their announcement as the fact of new a/c coming to mainline, why don't we hold them to their word (I know, not in today's business practices) and give us a concession now if those 100-200 a/c with options for 200 more don't come to mainline? They've already said they're coming, so it must be true, right?

They are management, and we aren't compensated appropriately for what our profession deserves. "Let me use the game of SCRABBLE as an analogy".

First word is placed. Management constructs a word for equivalent points. The entire time they're (management) looking at the "triple letter"/"double word" scores, and can capitalize on those once they know our "next word"(position in contract negotiations).

Again, and maybe I'm talking in circles, but we need to be in a constant "defensive" position about both PAY & SCOPE. Once we settle for one, they can find a loophole to give the other up.

Rant over.

GJ