Quick questions: what health benefit options should i choose (newly wed, want to account for a baby soon). Thanks for any advice!

Yep,

Hiring next year. Just like you might see the sign in a bar that says "Free beer tomorrow."

Actually I really think that we might hire......... unless we are affected by:

SARS
War
Some kind of Economic crisis
An aviation related terrorist event
Bird Flu pandemic
A hurricane appears anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico
It snows twice in Atlanta next winter
The price up fuel jumps.............again
Age 70 hits - ALPA decides that we can not stop it so we might as well have some input. Great!
PRP II - "Back in Black" After all how are we gonna train the new 747/777 Pilots when all the LCA are retiring.
Codeshares/JVs/DCI Blossom at our expense (OOOPs too late - already happened).
A Zombie apocalypse occurs.
The "Board" does not allow it - After all how will it look on the street if we are hiring while singing the praises of Capacity restraint?
The company wants to hire but sees that most Pilots are willingly White Slipping up to 95 hours, so they decide not to hire.
Carbon Credits become mandatory and cost too much.
Stagflation hits with a vengeance.
Alaska airlines opens a NYC base to provide more convenient connection options to Delta passengers.

Or we spend billions on stock buybacks (again) and then anyone of the above scenarios occur.

So if none of the above occur, we will definitely hire "next year."

Scoop :)

Proof that 2 and 1/2 minutes is plenty long enough.

Don't forget "more military guys came back than planned and that threw all hiring plans into total chaos....no soup for you!"

You talking Delta paint and interior of the retained aircraft or the upgrade of the 129 pre-merger NWA DC-9's? That interior upgrade and the decision to retain those jets was widely credited with helping NWA's liquidity post 9/11. The passengers didn't know they were on an old jet unless they looked in the cockpit.

I think we'd be further ahead if we had kept those 129 until they really time out instead of buying their replacements with more 76 seater's

That's funny, seats more than 757-200, ER rate or let DCI fly them.

It adds some credence however as mentioned the deal seems to hinge on a trade. I have heard neither Boeing or Airbus want the RJ's. The prize is Delta's replacement widebody order in a few years. Do they make a del now and perhaps have a leg up in a few years for a much larger order or refuse to deal.

Not the big upgrade the 9s had while at NWA, just that painting of the DC-9s to the new paint and interior with retirement right around the corner.... around the next corner... not that corner but the next one... one more.... and one more...

it's like standing in line at Disney World!