Ignoring the corrosion issue that UPS may be facing since they're too cheap to paint airplanes, I preflighted the worst looking airplane (MD) in my 4 airline/20 years flying a couple weeks ago.

How bad is it when the VHHH controllers tell a crew it the worst looking 747 they've ever seen.

 

 

UPS is still painting airplanes on a regular schedule, the problem is they no longer clean them in between! Very sad.

 

They do however, clean those package cars to a high gloss finish. And those are the things that are seen by your customers. For what it's worth, some of the FedEx fleet was also quite filthy underneath.

 

I'll take the other side of that argument. People did say that last time and when the final contract came out, the retirement improvements were short of their needs. Some will argue that money went to FO pay improvements so far as fixing the 'slope" but we'll never really know. I've sat with different members of the negotiating team and EB from that time and been told differing stories.

This time, I think, things are a bit different. The demographics are far different. Most of us are now approaching 60 whereas very few were in that position before, and many of us will have 30 years, the maximum accrual in our A plan in a year or two. Nobody was close to getting a full A plan retirement in 06. While some start in a few years, the crowd of 30 year longevity guys starts to really pile on in the early years after that.

Again, when you look at demographics, a lot of people are in better financial shape after a few years of good pay, paying down or getting rid of mortgages, getting their kids through college, and maybe a home down size. Combine with the of "slope" in our schedules, i.e. the senior lines aren't a ton better than the junior, I think a lot of people will be in a much better financial and demographic position, and have had their fill of the brown funhouse than in in 06

 

Feiglein, I think that was the last time that they washed a plane

 

You bring some very valid points and I'd LOVE to be wrong on this issue.
The optimistic side of me hopes you're right but the sceptic in me says no way, given choice the vast majority of people seem to choose more pay over time off. Not always but most of the time and that applies to retirements too.