Originally Posted by slowplay

There is something else.

All payscales don't stop at 12 years. Delta's (and many majors) do. In the regional industry it is not uncommon to 18-20 year scales for Captains. In the case of DCI, longevity is used as a whipsaw. The average Compass Captain is at 3 year scale for pay ($67/hr) and benefits. The average Comair Captain is at top of scale for pay ($99/hr) and benefits. The rest of DCI is someplace in between. The FO differences aren't as dramatic as those payscales generally stop at 8-10 years. Compass has a flow that for a period of time will reset their longevity. Comair doesn't. From Delta's perspective, even though their payscale is relatively aligned that makes a CMR pilot about 20% more expensive than the rest of DCI.

Longevity is something to consider for how you would bring DCI flying back to Delta and is going to be something the UAUA/CAL MEC 's are going to have to overcome in their negotiation if they're to retain CAL vice UAUA scope. For example, Delta's CRJ-900 rate is about $112/hr. That's about the same as M88 or A320 FO at 12 years, and is over $10 per hour greater than the DCI average at that longevity. Where do you think those pilots would bid? Generally to where the money/QOL dictates. Then compare that to the pilot cost per block hour where that flying is currently being done.

It's not a simple problem, in my view. Does this address your question, or did I miss it?