Quite true, and most cannot see that this cray explosion of DCI since 2000 is what caused C2K to be but a dream. DALPA got that contract because DCI did not have the chance to grow before it was inked. Fact is that every pay cut has come with a increase in scoped airframes for third party operators.

These two issues are hand in hand. Pay raises with out the proper changes in section one are a straw man that will fall apart the first time a good wind blows.

I am a Jr guy and FWIW, I think Compass was a "c" scale deal, however, with out them I am almost certain I would be on the street. When you furlough from mainline you furlough from Compost, thus doubling your training costs.

One other rant, for the guys that lost their retirement-why were you counting on it anyway. I think it was the worst thing to happen in my life to see people losing their retirement, however, if I were in that position; I would have never counted on it. Just like I don't count on the government taking care of me when I retire.

ACL - your post should be on a plaque by the front door of the MEC office.

Not really. ACL and I disagree on this point, but I say displacing through Compass is hardly different than displacing through the DC9.

The difference is INDOC (which I thought had been mostly aligned) and maybe some HR typing on a computer. Management would save money through the destruction of longevity which should more than make up for the HR paperwork and as NWA is finding out, indoc is not that big a deal.

So a 4 week course becomes a 5 week course.

I think the issue is that the flow doesn't work at all because of the small hole you'd have to push every furloughee through. IMHO they'll wait until they have enough in position, then flush harder. As ACL has pointed out, if you see the short bus, the MD88 and DC9 staffed with a 2 to 1 FO to Captain ratio, then they are getting ready to pull the handle.

Carl,

You are correct - there are good and bad in all seniority levels. My antipathy is directed (and I should have limited my comments) towards any officers or their proxies of the previous fNWA MEC trying to reinsert themselves in the process.

No you are totally clueless on this issue.

Plenty of friends/former classmates there hired 98-99 time frame is where my info comes from. Let's hear your side of those issues. Why did a DL guy hired in the same timeframe fare so much better through the cutbacks and BK than those guys?

Interesting post and I'd like to see it from your point of view. What specifically did the Delta negotiators negotiate to save junior pilots' jobs?

The guys I flew with at ASA were doing the exact same flying they had been doing on the 737 and 727 for about 1/8th the pay and commuting to a new base. DCI hired thousands more pilots than Delta furloughed and Delta Air Lines' block hours increased during the period.

I also observed that Delta could order more RJ's, well beyond the scope limits, then always managed to get the limits moved right before the airplanes showed up. In 2000 Bombardier gave me and my boss the uber VIP treatment at the Paris Air Show thanks to Delta ordering 500+ RJ's at a cost of over ten billion dollars. IMHO that order was a marker for the beginning of the end of C2K.

Here's just one example of why your statement shows ignorance. NWALPA signed off on the removal of 2nd Captain augmentation. That resulted in hundreds of wide body Captains being displaced and losing money. Had we not done this huge cost saving item, many more junior pilots would have been furloughed.

Again, just one example.

Carl

LOL! Yeah, they aren't too bad. The DC9-50's are getting all leather so I guess they'll be around for a little while longer.

Yeah, I came off like a jerk because I was frustrated but it really is a CF. I just don't like hardstands period. I don't care if it's for a 767 or a CRJ-200. I think it's a embarassment to us and I think it's a inconvience for the pax. JMHO. Now I think they are acceptable in warm wx places, but not JFK.


Well, we can hope that if they truly want to be the Premier NY Airline, they will completely eliminate hardstands all together.

WOW! I can't believe they do it to 757s and 767s as well! Thats a lot of busses!

I agree with you, and that's my main beef with the JFK op. I hope we can steer away from the hardstand thing, and get some much nicer terminals.