Jet Blue is hiring. The last time I was on their jumpseat the Captain was coming back to Delta from furlough and the FO had his application in and hoped to move over to Delta. That opens up two more slots there.

 

Sailing,

Many of us have seen very few positive events while at Delta. As a new hire in 2001 we were told that hiring would be 30 a month indefinitely. At that time captain seats in MCO were 3-4 years. Months later we didn't have jobs anymore. Many had furloughs than were in excess of 5 years! For those of us who came back, we've found stagnation due to the age 65 change, a merger and the worst economy since the depression. As a result, many of us are on the 12 year pay scale and still 11% from the bottom of the seniority list. Our latest contract raises the ALV, I already work 15-16 days a month as a line holder, I really don't care to be away from home more than that. Being stuck on the bottom half of a category with PBS for years is not exactly fun. It also doesn't lend itself to controlling the type of trips we get. Maybe I should bid down from the 88 to the DC-9 for some quality of life?

I really hope the 88 717's are all growth, I really do. After what we've been through we would be naive to count our chickens before they hatch. My best guess is that some of us "glass 1/2 empty" types are looking at 17-18 years before we see our first Left seat. Again, I hope I'm wrong on that. The promise of "Someday" being told to me by senior pilots and management has yet to come. I know, I know, someday...............

 

And JB doesn't have DL RASM. We're taking it to them, finally, in NYC and doing quite well. Yet we surrender an absolute crown jewel in BOS, one that is as recession-proof and affluent a market full of perpetual travelers. At least we have AS doing some of our trans cons to compete with JB though. AS CASM must be awesome.

Besides, DL CASM continues to increase because of capacity dicipline and JB (and others) CASM continues to remain lower because we allow them to live in perpetual growth mode. Those lines will continue to diverge in our drive for short term quarterly smash, yet the more the lines diverge the more we will think further capacity reductions are in order. Quarterly bonuses > sustainable business models any day in today's B schools.

 

JB had over 10% attrition in about a year back when everyone was hiring (most from the junior part of the list) and that will likely continue when industry wide hiring eventually happens again (even if during more capacity shrinkage due to retirements). While hiring will help by averaging the juniority of the pilot work force, its still not as powerful a contributor to CASM control that real growth would be. We could (and likely will end up) hiring as we shrink, while the ponzi scheme airlines riding on growth CASM keep on growing because we fund it with our capacity.

Glass half whatever, but I'm very bullish on our potential as a company. I'm just bearish on the vector we're taking from our present position because the path is entirely unsustainable and self destructing.

 

This is so much doom and gloom on here today. When I got hired 2 years ago we had 12300 pilots on the seniority list and now we have less than 12000. So if we lose another 160 something pilots we are down about 470 pilots total since I started. That seems like a LOT. I hope that means we will need to hire a few

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news my friend but it's only going to get worse from here. Those work rule changes your union keeps telling you are going to make you happy almost always take a nasty turn toward company benefit only, while tanking your QOL, time with family and increasing your fatigue levels.

The recent work rule giveaway (OK we will call it a trade for sweaty cash) and "increased inefficiencies" are about to make a reserves life even more miserable and have a trickle down effect to line holders ability to pick up time and do what they used to enjoy doing in the past. While that is happening guys like SF will be blowing smoke up your behind telling you what a great deal you got. Oh yeah, about that "near term 1000 job increase" your buddy SF keeps talking about, in about 6 months he will tell you "Its the economy stupid". If it wasn't for that darn economy staying down everything would have worked out just as promised.

I feel you pain. Some day I hope this pilot group fire the misguided incumbents at the top and get some quality long term thinking leadership that work for the pilot group instead of selling nonsense while berating those they are tasked with representing. Until that happens, hang in there....turbulence in your schedule ahead.

 

This part of the article is untrue. Unless "Yield Fare" means free.

 

The company said it's going to be capacity neutral, right? The 717s would have been pretty close to an even swap with the 50 seaters. Lets not forget that we let them backfill more than half the lost RJ capacity with more RJs. There's about 3,000 seats left over.

70(76) + (88)110 is not equal to 200(50) + 17(120)

I would not be surprised if a few mainline jets were retired to make up the difference. For example, if you take out the 22 MD88s that did not get the gross weight increase, now we're pretty close to capacity neutral.

 

That was the concern without it spelled out in the TA, but alas, its our PWA now.

 

7ER B in NYC and already at 66hrs by the end of Aug 17th. I might have to put in a YS to Vegas to see this

Gentlemen's Club Owners EXPO

Tsquare you down?