Originally Posted by galaxy flyer

Easy, their hearing is gone!

GF

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

I still can not believe ALPA allowed another pilot group to do a deal with our management.

2015's goin to be interesting ... but, "RJ's were last decade's problem." Only if you accept that we lost, we are giving up and an RJ seats 100 people and can fly to South America from Atlanta.

Originally Posted by scambo1

This is not a defense of scabs:

My understanding of the CAL scab situation is that there were true picket line crossing scabs who crossed early. Then there were scabs that fought the good fight, lost everything and crossed much later (a year or more) to put food on the table. Then there was a third group who were told by ALPA - at some level- MEC, LEC or some other level to return to work and they were labeled scabs as well.

I don't know many CAL pilots except a hunting buddy. He says CAL pilots generally made peace with their scabs (in at least the 2 later groups).

When I was at UAL, there was no peace made with the scabs. It was wierd for a fresh off AD guy (me) to deal with it, mostly because the whole (union/airline) thing was so new to me.

Today, with codeshares and sub-contractors, some union and some non-union, it seems to me that flying struck work is a very cloudy picture - to be taken on a flight-by-flight basis. Even then it is unclear to me how to tell if someone is flying struck work.

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

While we are talking tone. Anyone think this resonates with Richard Anderson's Pinnacle excitement in the Q1 2013 Earnings Call ?

Based on Mr. Anderson's comments Pinnacle's going to be an alter ego of Delta. Before you write your rep to complain consider not a one of them objected to ALPA's actions (previous Reps) and our contract is silent on another pilot group effectively wearing our uniforms (with minor changes), being handled by our agents and even maybe being staffed with Delta Flight Attendants. Behind the cockpit door we all look the same ... just they're a heck of a lot cheaper to pay.

... we really did not need to have this problem in 2015, but I think we are going have to deal with it then. By that time it will have a lot of momentum behind it.

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

While we are talking tone. Anyone think this resonates with Richard Anderson's Pinnacle excitement in the Q1 2013 Earnings Call ?

Based on Mr. Anderson's comments Pinnacle's going to be an alter ego of Delta. Before you write your rep to complain consider not a one of them objected to ALPA's actions (previous Reps) and our contract is silent on another pilot group effectively wearing our uniforms (with minor changes), being handled by our agents and even maybe being staffed with Delta Flight Attendants. Behind the cockpit door we all look the same ... just they're a heck of a lot cheaper to pay.

... we really did not need to have this problem in 2015, but I think we are going have to deal with it then. By that time it will have a lot of momentum behind it.

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

Sorry for nerding out ... but here's a friend and mentor explaining his stage acoustic set up. He's got the best tone of anyone I've ever heard play. Part of the trick is his use of alternative tunings which expand the range of the instrument. While his Olsons sound the best the carbon fiber guitar handles the tunings and travel better than anything.



BTW, James Taylor describes Dave as "my favorite guitar player." Taylor sets up his Olsons really well too.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid

ICAL was made up of a lot of different groups who hated each other. But despite their differences they came together... to hate Coex.

Originally Posted by block30

What are you saying? Also, I thought that Delta mainline pilots voted in scope easements....(I'm not trying to be argumentative, if you can believe that).

Originally Posted by Q1 Conference Call

Richard Anderson ... we close on Pinnacle May 1, and it will not replace Comair but will become the most efficient, best-run regional carrier. We actually have -- no, we actually -- it's really important to note this because this is...

Helane R. Becker - Cowen Securities LLC, Research Division - laughed out loud - I'm sorry.

Richard H. Anderson - Chief Executive Officer and Director
Well, this is a big strategic advantage for Delta that I don't think people quite understand. We have fixed kind of the scale and cost issues that have plagued the regional carrier industry. So Pinnacle will probably, as a wholly-owned subsidiary, we have a cap scale and a flow-up agreement now. So we probably will end up having a 20% to 25% all-in once we get it all fully up and running and the 50-seaters out and the 70- and 76-seaters in. We'll have a very significant competitive advantage on the regional industry. And number two, we'll have the ability to really control the product and make it same as the mainline. So very important strategic initiative that we have because the whole up-gauge -- the whole up-gauging strategy is a really massive change in this industry because all those 50-seater airplanes were bought when fuel was $20 a barrel. And when you take the original purchase assumptions and now overlay them on what fuel is today and what the scales were 15 years ago for pilots and flight attendants and overlay where they are today at the independent regionals, that's a very tough equation. And we've actually solved through that equation, and we're going to take our regional carrier fleet down from probably a peak of around 700 -- 600, 700 airplanes down to the low 400s, and we're going to have the best cost structure and the best operations.

Helane R. Becker - Cowen Securities LLC, Research Division
That's huge. And as we think about that then, how many years should we allow for that? I know it's in the pilot contract, right? It's like 2 to 3 years?

Richard H. Anderson - Chief Executive Officer and Director
Well, no, we should be -- we should really, I think in 24 -- well, it's a 7-year pilot contract, Mike Campbell reminds me. But in terms of getting the shift done, it's really in the next 18 to 24 months. And that's where you see a big improvement in our regional carrier line. And we have a big ASM pickup because we're going to be able to operate the airline, the total Delta airline with probably a couple hundred fewer airplanes and still have the same ability to produce ASMs. So there's so much operating leverage in this move that we're excited about closing on the Pinnacle transaction.