OK, thanks.

Virgin having trouble with pesky ownership rules again. How bizarre...

Yep, it was in reference to some of the rumors with DAL. It just referenced that their route authorities would be null and void if there was a majority of foreign ownership. Nothing earth shattering.

I see that. So I can learn how to read these things, my category shows the following:

744 vacancies 21
......lowest seniority 5
......highest seniority 1790
......head count adjust

does this mean they need to add 21 captains? I know there was also a surplus bid as part of this (all from the 742), so I think that means all those guys will probably go to the 744.

Is there any way to tell from this how safe the bottom guy (1790) would be based on this data.

Carl

I would term it no more than a rumor. It may become more than that, but I would not say the information is great information. My .02

Welcome to the world of AE's guys. ;)

Yes, but it requires some legwork.

Total up the number of displacements senior to the bottom guy (my guess is many of the 742 Captains and some of the FOs). You're not "safe" unless you've got that many guys behind you.

Now it is highly unlikely that they will all bid to DTW744A. Many will probably just go down to SEA. But senior displacees from the base closure will cause a cascade. The system is designed to be inefficient to dissuade management from displacing cavalierly.

That's true at Comair. Some of the best stories are from the Vietnam guys.

But our best storyteller by far is the guy who flew MH-60 "Super 65" with TFR in Mogadishu. I'd like to hear some SR-71 stories though.

How would that be fair to the Freedom guys who have only been in the airlines for three years, when they see ASA and Comair guys keeping 15 years worth of vacation, sick time, etc? :D

Slow, sorry I did not reply, missed your post.

As far as management and our politicians breaking promises, can you be serious that you can't think of an example? What do you call concessionary bargaining? Lines in the sand? No furlough clauses? Pensions? "Cut once and do it right" ? The merger is off ?

I'm just pointing out that even when the union makes promises in good faith, this is a tough business and promises of future employment are rarely kept.

The best way to make an enforceable promise is a seniority number. That is real unity. That is the point I've been making. Lets replace the political eyewash with objective, tangible, enforceable, unity. That uniquely requires ALPA. If our union would "rediscover" the source of its power, it would be more relevant and reverse the trends we see in our profession.

What was the point of your post? You are challenged to find a single example where I've misrepresented a fact. If ever it happens (no one is perfect) a correction is published.

What's your reason for your personal attacks?

You need to count up the number of freighter pilots senior to 1790. If it is more than 21, then it depends on where those guys want to displace to. Let's say 40 are senior to 1790. If only 20 want to go to DTW then 1790 is safe. If it's more than 21, then 1790 should be nervous. Sometimes they will carry excess to avoid displacements if they think there will be openings in the future. It is hard to tell exactly what will happen. If a wide body captain was junior to freighter captains, I would have a Mandatory Displacement bid in just in case. It looks to me like they tried to have a captain's seat available for all the freighter captains.

Took a look at the category list, my guess is the bottom 20-30 guys in DTW 744 A should be a little nervous. Just depends on whether the ANC guys want to go to a category where they could be real senior for commuting.