They were anticipating a larger number of pilots returning from furlough. At the last moment a group of furloughees resigned that had previously accepted recall. This left the staffing much lower than expected (see the bid list for ACY...big disparity between CA and FO). Since it takes twice as long for a new hire class to be released to line than a recall class, we dont have anymore bodies until the last week in March. They decided that rather than having to JRM and/or cancel a ton of flights the first three weeks of March it was better to draw the flying down a bit (500 hours).

As for the airplanes, they were always scheduled for a Feb delivery. They are paid for, and they are coming whether we want them or not. That will be it as far as new planes go until the fall.

And as for having delivery pilots, there is training that must be done in order to go over and get the jets...so says the FAA. To date, there are only a couple guys that have the training.