Peace out, Napoleon...;)

Keep in mind that traditionally, the closest you should have been able to get to an ER cockpit was on the jumpseat, let alone hold a line as a new hire. Not being ugly about it, but as an 01 hire, I finally got on the ER in 07. Before that, a person was usually here 10 years or more before being able to hold it. Post BK, things got screwy because of the early outs.

I am saying that relative to the fleet plan the company has done exactly what they said when the contract was signed. The deliveries are coming as planned and now via the new RFP's we may even see a increase beyond what they promised. There is a thread on the DALPA forum where RH discusses these issues and addresses why he believes the company has not hired. The good news is that the fact they did not hire in 2013 has no impact on the total number of pilots they will need down the road. They just have to hire more. There is also not a bit of evidence in the bid monitor reports relative to block hours to show that the work rule changes have cost us any jobs let alone thousands! He also confirms that 200 Captains positions have been awarded since the TA was signed. 77 more on top of that number in this bid if they award them all.
Overall we are on a far more positive trend then at any time in the last 12 years. I think that is good thing. We will see where things are in 3 years. I believe that the doom and gloomers who inhabit this forum and claim we will have fewer pilots and no movement will be proved very wrong. The way many pilots post here you have to believe they truly want the worst to come true.
Time to head out and work on my wheel landings. They have become a bit unpredictable lately!

Yes, Sailing, we 2007-8 hires held consistent international lines. That was before we let them combine the 7ER and 767 categories (for which we got nothing in return), which pushed international flying into the 10-years-of-seniority realm. In those days, we received 1 1/2 or 2x pay for any domestic trip assigned to a 7ER guy (I forget which one). We gave that up as well when the categories combined.

I guess there will always be some number one can find that makes it seem like things have improved. For me, though, "things" only include the plane I'm flying, the type of flying I'm doing, the schedule I'm keeping, the amount of money I'm being paid, and the side benefits like retirement, sick leave, etc. I can tell you that no matter how many times ALPA tells me it's gotten better, in my experience things hav gone consistently downhill in almost all those categories in the past five years.

If you held an international line as a 2007/8 hire, consider yourself extremely lucky. That was a statistical outlier and far from the historical norm. However, it is human nature to take a snapshot at a moment in time when you are new to an environment, and naturally assume that however things are that very second is how they always have been and always will be. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Here are a couple of other points. ALPA did not "let" the company combine the international and domestic ER categories. The company has always had that ability. As I've said before, there are both pros and cons from both a company and union perspective to combining--or keeping separate--the international and domestic categories. The company has chosen to combine them at this point in time. So what? Every other airline has always done it this way. No conspiracy here.

Also, your point that the company "had to pay double or 1 1/2 times" if they assigned a domestic category trip to an ER category is flawed. Again, the company has ALWAYS had the option of putting any domestic time that they wanted into an international bid package. IF the company in a pinch assigned a domestic category's domestic trip to an ER guy, then there would be some financial penalties to the company--but this was very very rare.

Bottom line is that for decades the international categories were very senior and took a long time to even get into. The 2007/8 new hires that were hired right into the 7ER right seat were one-time aberrations. You cannot have it both ways. You can't say "hey, I was holding a regular international line in year two, and ALPA hosed me out of it" without acknowledging that almost no DAL pilots has EVER been able to say that.

FDX, out with the old. Love's them some 757's. Wonder where they gonna get them? Oh, you guys are getting rid of some.... maybe even more with a buyer. FedEx Corp. Accelerates Aircraft Retirements - Yahoo! Finance

Emirates wants to fly 5th freedom from Asia to US with it's shiny A380's, good luck to the US carriers if this happens.
Emirates Seeks Global Supremacy With A380s Flying Asia-US Routes - Bloomberg

Herkflyr is very correct in what he says, doesn't make being junior any easier but it is what it is. A friend of mine got a 727 co-pilot bid out of seniority and ended up being the plug and commuting to reserve for over 4 years. Reserve at that time was pretty much 24/7 shortcall all the time.
All Sailing is saying is things are getting better, 2014 and 2015 are going to be good years for pilots and the big D, a profitable company floats all boats.

You might want to have a peak at the numbers here regarding mainline/regional flying and rethink your position, because you are starting to look silly. Sorry.

Any chance of an advanced copy? I'll sign a non disclosure. :D

I don't know, and I am not throwing a rock Sailing, but do your numbers include those displaced and likely to be reinstated with this bid?