The company refers to the domestic/non-Biz Elite 767s are "767-300" and the 767-300ER with Biz Elite seating as 767-300ERs, so it's on the domestic ones that are going.

It's not much of a surprise to see the domestic ones go - the company had said all along that the 737-900ER was going to replace A320s, 757s and 767-300s.

Everyone is getting wound up over 66 more airplanes. I like having more airplanes like the next guy, but Crew Resource and Network can barely decide if we're keeping the 19 DC-9s or not. They may have a "plan" for 2015, but it's written in stone just like the 2012 plan was (and changed) and the 2013 plan will be.

I guess, but still. Are the engines really so rare that they will have to be parked? In any case I'd like to see Boeing rock out a new ER with its GTF out since the line is staying open longer. It wouldn't cost them any 787 sales for a long time as the line is fully committed either way, and they could churn out a semi next-gen AC with a much higher level of reliability and total operating/ownership numbers that would absolutely rock. If it was successful and eventually ended up costing future 787 sales, it would also cost future A350 sales by steering that metal to Boeing. IMO they are missing a massive opportunity not doing that.

Absent the critical component, the pilot contract, which the company just confirmed, this refleeting wouldn't have happened. Thank goodness most of the Delta pilots didn't have tin hats on, there never is guaranteed growth in any CBA. The contracts can however create the environment for growth, which this one did. Most of us saw that and the reps had the courage to make the right call.

Keep the "what other airline" cartoon stuff out of it. The company had to acquire 717s or 319 for the Delta pilots with this CBA not some future JCBA, in order to execute on its refleeting plan, which included a rapid and massive reductions of DCI jets in.

With 796 mainline aircraft, the company could have been authorized 240 76-seat jets, thanks to this new contract, they'll only get 223.

I get that. I was just wondering about the little connect the dots teaser ACL left us by implying we *could* add 66 planes by merging/etc. He asked "which airline(s) does that for us" and I couldn't come up with a viable scenario.

Alliegant has 64,! !

Great reporting by the way. Curious about the 2013-2014 hiring.

Well, ours does guarantee DCI the right to grow from 255 jumbo RJs to 325. So I'd say ours.


Ah, but a merger allows you to do different things with different fleets. After all today we don't have PMDAL plus a PMNWA fleet. You could merge with Alaska, drop their 734s, trade in their 739s, add their 739ER order to ours post trade in, drop something we don't want to keep on our side, etc.

It's one way to get to 796 airplanes with no hiring needed until late 2013 to 2014 (which is what I heard from two separate LCA this week so it's being repeated*).

To use a SWA analogy, there are lots of fun ways to skin a cat, but...

circle gets the square.



*I did also listened in on a conversation a week ago about whether we'd be hiring. The management pilot said simply we're taking steps to move in that direction. for whatever that's worth.

Which is the primary reason you never give up scope in the first place.

Could you point to the language that "guarantees" RJ growth.

Glad to see that our CBA did limit the number of possible super jumbo 76-seat aircraft and put a limit on the number of 70-seat aircraft. Also good to see that this SEC filing confirms what most Delta pilots understood, we got superior scope and mainline is going to grow thanks to this new contract. Delta pilots will now see a larger share of Delta brand flying, thanks to the pilots who actually understood the dynamics of our scope language.

We all agreed that some if not many 717's are growth. It may not be all from other airlines, either via used aircraft acquisition or otherwise. My point was that trying to sharp shoot a general number somewhere in 2015(by 2015) is really hard to do. It could be announced orders, unannounced orders, acquisitions et al. Its very vague.