I get that it's really 11 days on reserve if you take out the 2 CQ days, but you'd have to do that under the old contract too, wouldn't you? You can't very well put 11 down as a legit number for the new PWA and leave 15 up for the old PWA, unless the CQ days were taken from you X-days. 15 doesn't add up to me.

 

Damn you Bucking Bar!! I'm watching The Big Lebowski and its all your fault.....dude. Yup, it's 1am.

 

Interestingly, it's odd to see anything done in a rush with these deals. I'm guessing the 717 negotiations had been under tight security since probably even before the SWA-AT merger was announced. We were rushed along as part of the scheme to sell us the "product".

Oddly enough had we rejected the TA or had the MEC decided to pursue better for the 717s, we still probably wouldn't be hiring with neutral 2013 block hours. Then the TA would have gotten done next year, and it's possible that the stagnation would have been more persistent.

Are you being cynical since DAL Legal's spin is better than yours, or just for the sake of being cynical? I prefer the latter.

 

I actually agree with 90% of your post. The cynicism is actually stemming from the sales job of the rush to pass the TA to get a good deal quick. Most people I spoke with both in ALPA and on the line that were pushing the TA stated that the company wanted to make moves and we would see further improvements in short order. That was the justification for the far below expectation payrates and other poor improvements.

By far the most zealot line pilots for the TA I flew with were for more money now, and DL is going to make moves and make them quick after this TA, freeing us up to quick improvements.

Well, here we are.... there is nothing close to triggering further improvements happening now. We are not pursuing parts of AA- in fact we are much farther from doing so than when the TA was in discussion. Hiring is as far away or even farther away.

Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the improvements in the contract- as a reserve I'm reaping many of the small rewards. The issue that I brought up during the TA discussion-and that which has proven to be true- what's the rush for such a mediocre gain after so many gives?

 

The rush had something to do with the fact mgt. saw earnings were going to take an upswing and wanted to nail down the contract before they were made public. If we had this type of earnings environment during negotiations we would have had more leverage, maybe ALPA could not have seen it but the masses surely would have.

 

Leather jackets look really horrible. Leather jacket and a hat look even worse. Leather jacket, hat and mustache while riding the Q33? Whoa!!! Guess this belongs on Tool of the Day thread. Yikes.

 

99 open seats on the LGA-ATL this morning. Cause for concern or just aftermath of Sandy still?

 

That's probably due to the Sandy aftermath. You should have seen all the half-empty wide body jets we were flying in/out of NRT after their earthquake.

 

I think all the NY based airlines (UAL, BLU, us ...etc.) have said that they are expecting pretty poor Novembers as folks bail on travel plans and concentrate on clean-up and such.

 

Earnings were just about in line with many of the pre year estimates. Also, you think with EF and A disclosures required in the contract that the MEC was not aware of where earnings were headed?