That is a silly comment.

That's your counter?

FWIW, I am happy with the amount of coin I make right here... right now. My pay situation is irrelevant, but if watching management buy smaller and smaller airplanes makes you happy, and it is all good knowing that Carl Spackler is one of a handful of guys at the top of the foodchain (at least as long as oil is cheap) then by all means let's stick to the current system. If you want more guys to make more money, then why don't you get your head out of the sand and at least consider another way? Or not. Enjoy what you have. I certainly do, but it gets old listening to guys whine about the "low pay due to stagnation" when there is a solution.

Fire away all....

Google Chairman Sells 80K Shares and 4 Insider Sales to Note | Wall St. Cheat Sheet - Part 2

So, does the company simply eliminate the middle man and buy back stock that management is selling?

SAN PUB Event
 

Overall pretty good night. Free beer, well included in our union dues - thanks fellas :) . 94th Aero Squadron in San Diego.

Highlights:
* Once hiring starts it will probably just continue - the 300 number announced is mainly due to budgeting constraints to account for the costs of the hiring. Who knows, time will tell. About half recalls, then flows, and then at least 50 off the street in the first 300. After this batch mainly off the street but it will depend on the frequency and size of classes.
* The big threat to the US airline industry, and DAL, is clearly the state run middle east airlines that are funded by the govt. Strong pitch for ALPA PAC and the Call to Actions. Regarding the call to actions, you can resubmit after a certain time but should probably change the verbiage somewhat to update it.
* Big mainline growth in total numbers over the next few years. The 757 is definitely the flex fleet and the numbers/dates of retirements will most certainly change with the environment just as the DC-9 retirement was continually updated.
* If anyone tells you definitively where the new aircraft will be deployed they are speculating. Even if they have good info - it is continually changing. We may plan to put an AC in a certain market but by the time it enters service it may go somewhere else.
* The recent LOA was discussed as a good thing. The world has changed since it was negotiated. This whole topic was almost an afterthought, no one seemed too concerned one way or another about it.
* The upcoming contract will probably the first time ever? (or in recent memory) that we have had back to back positive contracts - lets hope so!

Overall - nothing earth shattering. About 30-40 people attended including the MEC Chairman, local reps and a bunch of other DALPA guys.

I recommend that you all try to attend a PUB.

Scoop :)

Bout the same I heard at the Ann Arbor PUB event.

Thats a perfect place to rest one's nose, yummy:o Atta boy DC!!!!

TEN

Name one.

Carl

On a local level, I don't like ALV+15 for NB guys. I think it should've been WB reserves only. I'd also like to see the ADG exemption for late reports/early arrivals go away.


On a National level the $36,000 oil portrait is stupid. I'm happy the DTW resolution to change the policy made it to the top. LM thinks it's stupid too. Which is why one of him hasn't been made. He just wanted a digital pic blown up.

There's a quick few.

No that is not my counter argument. Your analysis would be accurate if Delta flew one day per month. Here is my counter argument.

On a micro level you can look at it like this. Let's say Delta has to cover 20 rotations in a month. At first they are 8 hour legs and 16 roundtrip. If the ALV is 80, each pilot could fly 5 round trips a month, so you would need 4 pilots to cover each position. If you increase the block time by 25% to 10 hours each way, then each pilot could only cover 4 round trips and you would need 5 pilots to cover each positions. Not surprisingly a 25% increase in block hours equates to a 25% increase in pilots required.

How many aircraft does it take to fly the above examples. I don't care if it's 10 aircraft or 50. That is management's job to figure out. Pilots fly block hours. Our ALV is in hours, our TLV is in hours, our pickup limit is in hours. Not once do you see the aircraft count in any of those formulae.

On a macro level, if you churn through all the items in the Manning formula, you would come up with an average block hours/pilot/month. Let's say it's 60, that number is close but let's just use 60. From you example if you had 150 aircraft at 8.1 hours per leg you would generate 150 x 16.2 x 30 hours per month or 72,900 hours. At 60 hours per pilot that would be 1215 pilots per position. If you upped the block hours to 11.9 per leg you have 150 x 23.8 x 30 = 107,100 hours. At 60 hours per, you would have 1785 pilots. Not shockingly, a 47% increase in block hours equates to a 47% increase in pilots required.

You are confusing how many pilots it takes to fill up a month's schedule to how many are flying on one day. In your example, there would be an identical number of pilots flying on each day. However, in the higher block hour example, pilots would run out of hours in fewer days. Hence, a 777 pilot might get 80 hours in 9 days and a 717 pilot might take 14 but they both fly 80 hours.

In all of these examples, management must decide how many aircraft it takes to fly their schedule. Block hours = pilot jobs. Period.

Really it comes from seats required and revenue capability in between city pairings. Then they buy the aircraft required for the mission, assign the frequency and city pairings, and only then do you have pilot block hours.

You two are making a chicken/egg on the origination of the required pilot jobs. Block hours are a great measurement, but it's not the most fundamental level.