To be clear I am not and never have been in favor of a merged seniority between a major and regional. However, it seems like ALPA and mainline like to always look for ways to or by any means possible to not allow regional pilots to have equal treatment. Would ALPA work so hard to "define those small jet pilots" if more money was on the table on the regional side? I can only feel that the only true reason ALPA works so hard to find those definitions is if it did not there would more then likely be a revolt at Delta and ALPA would get voted out and Delta pilots would go their own way.

It is obvious I am not a threat to any mainline pilot, his position or job and never want to be but in this current environment I do feel mainline are a threat to regionals almost as much as cabotage is. Regardless BB, I appreciate your insight and intelligent replies!

 

Yes Sir, trying to understand your point of view.

Would you rather have a 9,500 hour former RJ Captain in your right seat who has seen most of the airports you fly to and who has experience with weather and things going not quite right ... or would you rather have a Delta scholarship winning 250 hour Multi Pilot License Certificate holder who logged 210 of those hours in a sim, having learned most of what they know from a DVD.

Those are probably your choices if you remain a 717A for the next five years. What is your preference?

As for me, I would prefer to fly with an experienced First Officer who was mentored through his express flying days by a Captain executing the responsibilities of his flight deck as directed by Delta Air Lines. A pilot who's training was based on a scientific approach which incorporates the lessons learned by ALPA's safety and training experts.

 

Their reasons for failure suggest a lack of preparation. There is no excuse for not being able to score well. Practice, as they say, makes perfect. Perhaps they felt entitled, so they did not buckle down and prep. Who knows?

Since most boned their test, they will have another shot. The smart ones will be ready next time.

In 2007 some airlines had a much better rate of success than others. It boiled down to preparation ... those pilots took the offer of a job worth another 5 or so million dollars very seriously.

 

An economist noted that as Obama threatens Russia it is not likely we are going to use an Ohio Class Sub in the way it was designed to be used, but ... there is something we could do to slap Russia around pretty hard.

That's 5% of Russia's GDP.

 

Well, I'm not really talking about the food fight over the quality of pilots. And it's a good point that our former Western, PanAm, Northwest, pilots were not interviewed by Delta. (I just wish our former Northeast pilots were! But, they're all gone now.)

I just don't think you are seeing all of the moving pieces, at least not from a management viewpoint. And in the end, they are the ones that will decide what aircraft are best for Delta. Unless you are advocating a return to the RJDC tactic of forcing a merger and SLI, which is what some of this wishful thinking sounds like.

Anyway, consider this. Delta hires about half from the military. (It was more like 90% military in my day) Any future military pilot would be shut out of this "lets capture all the RJ flying" scheme. A pilot hired after that with, say, 10 years military flying would end up at the bottom of a very long list of RJ's and behind someone with 1500 hrs towing a banner. The big hiring wave ahead will leave them languishing behind where they could be today.

Do I care? No. And neither do you probably. Except altruistically. Here is a previous quote from you:

"This is a huge point. Just because those that are currently here had to "pay our dues" doesn't mean that we should let the future pilots languish for years with no hope in sight. "

Sorry, a long post to float the idea that maybe Delta does not want to "capture all the RJ flying" so as to leave other hiring options open. And probably a hundred other reasons I can't think of.

 

Then why did mainline buy regionals?

You might be right, There is no economic incentive whatsoever but I think it helped finance the NWA pilots pension fund:

Contribution of Pinnacle Stock
Northwest reported that the Omnibus Agreement was executed between
Pinnacle Airlines Corporation (Pinnacle), Northwest Airlines, Inc.
(Northwest), Northwest Airlines Corporation (NWA Corp.) and Aon
Fiduciary Counselors, Inc (Fiduciary Counselors). Pursuant to the terms
of the Omnibus Agreement, Northwest contributed Pinnacle Stock to the
Contract Plan. The Omnibus Agreement provided for two contributions to
be made to the Contract Plan on January 15, 2003. An ``Initial
Contribution'' was made in the amount of $41,149,911. The Initial
Contribution was comprised of 1,819,833 shares valued at $22.61 per
share.\3\ The amount of the Initial Contribution is equal to the amount
that was required to meet the quarterly funding requirements under
ERISA section 302 and Code section 412(l) for the Contract Plan due on
January 15, 2003. The Omnibus Agreement also provided for an
``Additional Initial Contribution'' to the Contract Plan in the amount
of $2,671,983 (118,167 shares valued at $22.61 per share).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\3\ Northwest represents that the amount of shares necessary to
satisfy the required contribution was based upon a final valuation
of Pinnacle by Fiduciary Counselors, relying on a valuation report
prepared by Eclat Consulting. Northwest notes that, while Fiduciary
Counselors received and reviewed valuation information provided by
Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. (Morgan Stanley), Fiduciary Counselors
retained Eclat to provide valuation services.

 

I'll fly with whoever Delta hires. Its not the quality of the pilot that most concerns me. That is not a big issue at our company. It's the idea of mergers, SLI's, shortcuts, and lawsuits that raise concern.

I'm not a big fan of mergers of any kind, so I'd rather Delta hire pilots in the same way I was hired. That is, compete with every qualified applicant in the market (including those from the military, which you are pretty much leaving out) and hire the best pilot.

 

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

British Airways began 787 service between AUS - LHR today.

British Airways Begins Austin's First Euro Flight - keyetv.com Austin News, Weather, Traffic KEYE-TV Austin - Top Stories

Proof that Delta needs a 330 base here in Austin now!

 

I did Davis one year and that's all it took to realize it's not a good deal. If you need glasses or contacts, my recommendation is to budget that into your FSA calculation during open enrollment. The FSA can be either the LPFSA or the regular FSA.

Denny