I was impressed. They used actual footage of an airplane climbing out of MDW, other than that CGI Delta jet defying the laws of physics entering the clouds.

Next up for SWA - Bags Fly...

 

March 2014 Forecast of Pilot Requirements=94XX

On Deltanet, check it out. I know this is just for requirements and not headcount but RA and team are truly getting closer to that 9000 number

TEN

 

Are you sure he wasn't a SWA pilot?

 

Originally Posted by qball

And you are basing that on what information pray tell?


ATL growing...MSP getting smaller?



ATL apparently has a very lucrative O&D numbers whereas (if you are talking about FLIGHTS and not based employees, I would wager) MSP does not. Believe it or not, it IS about making money, and the current group of execs are intent on doing that very thing, more so than any of the morons that have graced us with their presence in the time I have been here. And I for one do not want us to fly to places where we do not make money. They have been creative, and diligent in attaining their goals. Now, because MSP is apparently in YOUR paradigm of the top 1 places on the planet we should be flying, I am sure they are wrong in their analysis. I don't want MSP to go anywhere either though because all of those guys are senior, and that means more displacements downstream...



My paradigm is purely selfish...the only one leg commute there is for me. That said..my thoughts are not purely about MSP. I am wondering when ATL will reach critical mass if it has not already exceeded that. How much longer can they keep stuffing more stuff in there. I think a good deal of the cutbacks in MSP have as much to do having to deal with the state of Minnesota. The only reason MSP was the hub it was IMO was because NWA headquarters was there. After the merger, it is being relegated to the second tier hub it probably always would have/should have been. There was also a somewhat acrimonious relationship between NWA and the state and a fairly hostile media as well. I'm sure RA is long tired of dealing with that.



Oh, and FWIW, I have heard Mr Anderson say on more than one occasion that he likes DTW because of it's position on the great circle routes to both Asia and Europe.. so it is probably safe.



I would agree with that and DTW gates, etc are laid out better than MSP...but it's still...well... Detroit.



Now Timbo and I are still waiting for that E190 base in MCO... the number 1 tourist destination on planet earth... Of course Virgin insists on flying 2 to 4 747-400s there a few times each week.. and we all know how well they are doing financially, don't we?



Who gets to be the chief pilot?

/rant

Regarding "critical mass" at the ATL. I heard firsthand from an unimpeachable source that the land is available for a 6th strip of asphalt in ATL. (He didn't say whether it was or was not going to be built anytime soon however). So I don't think "critical mass" will hit that place for a long time. For the first 20 years of my career I avoided that place like a Lady Gaga concert. Now that I have been domesticated and every trip starts with a leg to the ATL, I have come to realize how really head and shoulders above everywhere else it really is. It moves both people and airplanes very well. ATC there is very good (unlike DFW or NY) My only problem with it is that the company revolves around hometown procedures there, and if you are not on top of that, you might find yourself a little frustrated. (For example: does anybody have any idea where the metering freq is published and how in the world I am supposed to know when it is in effect???) But other than those kind of nitnoid things, I think it is a pretty good master base.

 

The 22D2 is a worthless report; don't read anything into it.

 

Yeah when you bolded it it certainly did, and I did not intend that so I do apologize for it coming across that way.

My point was that DAL is going to put assets where they make money, and I applaud them for that. I have had to accept that fact while sitting on MadDog and baby bus jumpseats from MCO to work (and other non-rev destinations) when we used to have widebodies. People in MEM have been trashing NWA (and now DAL) for years because we supposedly gouge them. That is probably true to an extent, and it is the unfortunate other edge of the sword when it comes to having a network carrier located in your hometown. You pay more.. but have more options. The city elders have for years.. in MEM.. been courting SWA and other "low cost carriers" all the while spitting in the face of NWA/DAL at every opportunity. So when we threaten to leave, they wonder why, and only then do they go to ATL to ask what they can do to get us to stay. MSP is probably no different.

 

And as an aside, bidding reserve on vacation is definitely the way to go. I did a spreadsheet on it, and it is eye opening... just an example, but if you have 2 weeks, and an ALV of 75 hours, you will get paid 85.5 and still have 6 x days. So that means you will "work" only 10 days for 85.5 hours. Better check my math though...

 

ATL and critical mass...remember about 12 years ago when we pushed 1000 flights a day through there? With only 4 rwys, underutilized E concourse, no F? ATL will always get a bad rap because of Mahogany Row but it really does do pretty good job moving the amount of traffic as well as it does.

 

Mine is still here unfortunately. I will NEVER get that new house built.

Thanks for your concern though... really, I appreciate that.

 

4. A person that refers to Jack and Coke as "football juice", and wears a particularly beautiful shade of orange on fall weekends.

Additionally: A Vol-in-tears is that same person AFTER the game he/she is watching, which makes football juice more valuable