Let me ask this....IF DAL merged with those guys why would any of us on the bottom third of the seniority list stick around DAL while other airlines hire big numbers? I for one wouldn't be around any longer than it would take to get an interview/job with UAL, AA, etc. This hypothetical merger would crush the bottom of the seniority list for the rest of our careers.

What ALPA meant to say was we were way overstaffed with 60+ year olds.:D

My thoughts as well. I really don't think there would be any kick back from government officials as there is little overlap. The only real issue would be senators from Montana and Idaho who may complain of a oligopoly in those two states. In fact our combined employee size would still be less than American (I believe)

Think about the new combined american.. a network that is smaller than ours, covers much less of the globe, but with thousands upon thousands more employees than we have... there are A LOT of synergies that are going to be happen there. And neither of them are PBS and are going to PBS. The waist tightening we've felt the past few years is going to be nothing like how hard that belt is going to be pulled over there.

IF they reach ISL! HUGE IF...same goes for UAL.

I had heard roughly a 9,000 pilot target about 2 years ago from someone in senior leadership, fwiw.

you serious, clark?

UAL's ISL will be out in a month or so. They already have a joint CBA.

AA is just starting the process. The AWA/US catfight will be at an end pretty soon, and the joint CBA they are going to be working under establishes the process for the ISL similar to how ours went. The only reason the AWA/US thing happened the way it has is because they did the ISL before the CBA... so they just never got a joint one.

Highly doubtful considering Flanigan and Kraby are heading up the hiring process that is in the process of firing up. Notice how much more affirmative SD has been about interviews this fall vice his phrasing on the C2012 sales job.

Mr B,

First I will defend DALPA and say that we tired that once and were taken to court - we lost. We can not unilaterally change the status-quo or something like that. The company went after 39, or was it 49 pilots personally via the court system.

Now after defending DALPA on the this very issue I will say DALPA was given a golden opportunity to do exactly what you mentioned and totally blew it - in my opinion one of DALPA's biggest failures.

Let me set the scene. We were in BK. We had over one thousand Pilots furloughed. DCI was hiring like gangbusters. We either had an 1113 hanging over our head or already agreed to LOA 46, not sure. The company reduced Green-slips to 150% pay and did not count leaves, sick leave, vacation etc toward the green slip trigger. In other words we had no status-quo, the company changed our contract.

Did DALPA rise to the occasion and put out the word - "Hey, guys no extra flying with furloughs on the street." Hell No! We were given a total freebie, we had no status-quo, the exact reason we were sued a few years prior and we blew it. Guys were Green-slipping like crazy with over one thousand Delta Pilots on the street. Hiding behind some BS status-quo threat when no such status-quo existed for 150% green-slips. We totally blew it.

Not only that, but sometime around then we agreed to allow retired Pilots, who had received their lump sums, to come back and help Delta man some of the senior positions. The company figured out we were short in some of the senior categories and came to DALPA for help. DALPA of course, obliged.

Not sure what, if anything we got for that. Maybe just the satisfaction of helping an incompetent management team get out from under one of their screw ups.

Not DALPA's finest hour. :(

Scoop