Hi everybody, this is Steve Dickson with the weekly Flight Operations Update for Friday June 8th.

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Finally, I know the big question out there on the line as you hear about mainline growth is how that will impact our pilot staffing and whether it will jumpstart pilot hiring. It’s been no secret that we are looking at a wave of pilot retirements over the next few years as pilots begin to approach age 65. Because of that, our pilot hiring group has remained active since we stopped our last round of hiring in 2010, and we are prepared to start the hiring process on short notice. While our hiring is ultimately based on the Network block hour plan, which in turn is affected by the economy, all indications are that the addition of 717s and the opportunity for pilots to take advantage of the Pilot Retirement Medical Account (RMA) early retirement option will accelerate movement across the seniority list and require us to begin hiring earlier than the planned pilot retirements alone would have. If Delta can continue to execute its business plan, including the 717s, and barring an economic downturn or other unanticipated event, we could begin the hiring process as early as the last quarter of this year.

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Mmmmmmmmmm.....New Hires.