KC10 FATboy

Although I agree with you that there is a threat here, the biggest threat comes from pilots who are willing to fly for airlines that have horrible work rules and poor pay, just for the hope that one day they will be able to fly for a major. Typically, that is your regional type of carrier. Unfortunately, although these pilots mean well, the very act of working for one of these companies is eroding anything positive at the majors.

[please note this isn't a bash on Southwest]

The sad reality is, we now have pilots who work at Southwest, which is now the industry leader in passenger airline pay, who are very happy, but are poorly paid when you consider where the bar used to be. In other words, the profession has been torn down so far that people are elated to get hired by Southwest. And who wouldn't? They're have a knack for making profits and are a great company to work for. However, it comes at the expense of not paying their labor force what used to be the status quo.

For this industry to come back, we would need everyone, (the regionals, LCCs, ULCCs, and the legacies) to have rapidly increasing contracts so that no one carrier can undermine the other. But I just don't ever see that happening.

Maybe someday there will be a law that says a carrier can not sell a ticket if a portion of the flight is to be operated by another carrier.

slowplay

Really...

Is that the best you've got, a story from when Anderson was with NWA prior to 2003. Hey, I'd like to apply my payrates and pension from that time too! It makes about as much sense...

As far as MOU 7 goes, who was more accurate? Were you another heating element for the tempest in the teapot?

Maybe you ought to quit lurking around here too, and instead of bringing discord and negative waves work on creating something good for your co-workers. Cold fusion hasn't been invented yet. Maybe if you turn off the heating element you could discover it!

Cycle Pilot

Hey, guys... Quick question... I have vacation over the next two weeks. Can you put in a Green Slip during that time and get awarded a trip? Or is it similar to a Personal Drop where they won't assign you anything? I couldn't find the answer to this question in the PWA. Thanks!

slowplay

Vacation is generally inviolate. They can reroute you into a vacation day, but there are penalties (ticket purchase refund, etc., and premium pay.) You can't pick up any flying during a vacation.

Cycle Pilot

Thanks! I appreciate the quick answer! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Fly4hire

Free speech and independent thought is soooo annoying

In your attempt to discredit you have, as usual, avoided answering the questions and have focused on not liking the questions. If asking inconvenient questions is divisive, and others ask the same questions as a result I suppose you could call it divisive.

The deer headlight salt lick metaphor, again while not to your liking is a valid concern shared by many. Sorry if you consider it offensive to the South, although it could be just as valid in MI or OH. If nothing else consider it one more N pilot who will never bid ATL

RA while charming intelligent, and an excellent manager with a vision for DAL is also a Lorenzo trained former EAL lawyer who spent the majority of his career at NWA.

Isn't it a little ironic that so much energy was spent earlier in the merger running down the fNWA MEC and pilots as combative yet none on why or whom conditioned them? Again you focus on the symptom and not the cause.

RA's best interests for the future of DAL may not be aligned (and are likely not except as is expedient) with the best interests of the pilots of DAL, and to think otherwise and is naive at best. To think he understands pilots and that his vision for DAL includes us is dangerously naive for a labor union..

Verify, trust, and then verify again. I see a little too much trust for my comfort......but from what I read I am hardly original or alone in that thinking.

The outright dismissal and obfuscation of topics and answers outside of a narrowly defined set of talking points is problematic.

NuGuy

Heh, too bad whats-his-name isn't lurking on the webboard anymore. His LRMDA speeches were GREAT.

Nu

NuGuy

Heyas,

Don't ya know I already cured cancer, discovered room temperature superconductors, developed workable fusion energy and patented %99 efficient photovoltaics? But the evil Global Oil Conspiracy found out and is now forcing me to be a airline pilot as punishment

But it good to see you lightening up...

Nu

Gnewt

Hey Slow,

There is a legal settlement that requires the Delta MEC discuss small jet scope, with an appeal avenue to the ALPA Executive Council. That said, why would a Delta MEC Chair pander to the RJ crowd?

Perhaps because he has aspirations of being ALPA National President? To get there he needs the RJ vote. To get it he'll do what he can to convert the Rebublic types from Teamsters to ALPA. He'll do that by offering up the 100 seat airplane as the means of reintegrating the RJ end of the pilot spectrum back into the Mainline pilot group.

Out of the DCI airlines, there are fewer than 6000 votes at the Executive Board. His own airline has over 11,200.

Is that the case if 4500 more Republic pilots join ALPA?

If he alienated his own MEC, the political aspirations which you ascribe to him would evaporate in the voting process. It's not realistic.

From my limited time in observing LM, EVERYTHING he does has political undertones. Of course that goes with the job. All MEC CHs are political animals. If he thinks he has the votes independent of his own airline, what does it matter if he alienates his own MEC? Alternatively, maybe they're in lockstep with him anyway on this issue.


I appreciate the "tone" of your post, even though the last paragraph was on the edge due to your belief. If you look at a situation from a pragmatic rather than Machiavellian point of view, you'll probably be looking through the same lens as Moak and the Delta MEC

Pragmatism and Machiavellianism (is that a word?) are not mutually exclusive as it pertains to LM. He is Machiavellian, and Pragmatism serves his dual purposes very well. He achieves his own personal ambitions by catering to the needs of the various pilot groups. He's pretty farsighted on this, I think. The RJ crowd shores up their career by having access to Mainline, and Mainline pilots harden their Scope protections. All of this is done via the 100 seat jet. Both pilot groups increasingly integrate as they see the value of unity in the face of continued career erosion. With careful management LM's reward for all this long term maneuvering is the ALPA National Chairmanship.

None of this is to say that any of this would be easy or even acheivable at all, but to think that LMs actions are exclusively altruistic strains credulity. If Im not mistaken, Machiavelli would advocate pragmatism as it suits wider ambitions.

Of course, I probably wrong on all of this. Stll, I think it's worth keep an eye on.

sailingfun

Your numbers support exactly what I am saying. SWA has at least a 25% cost advantage on Delta when flying the same jet the same stage length. Our 700 and 800's fly a much longer average stage length then SWA. The 700 costs almost the same as the 800 to operate. Take out the extra seats and then make the stage length adjustment and its at least 25%. Thats huge in any business!