Does a sim matter for someone with thousands of hours of jet time? No.

I think there is some validity to a sim for an entry level applicant. Even if a guy has the gouge, he still has to demonstrate some basic ability. Even if it's in a Frasca.

 

I guess that is a fair response. Nothing is the operative word though. With all the hiring coming up, I'm not worried about it and I am still not willing to pay anything for it. If I'm an island, so be it.

 

Flitz instead of Brasso for the DB buttons?

 

I'm not sure what a Frasca is.. I think that is what UPS was using back when. (Is it like a table top sim?) The UPS sim was done in an office chair with no vis of any kind and you had to fly an NDB course in and out... and they told you to pretend you were in a mountain valley and not hitting the sides. silly really, but I wanted a job and I played the game. Gloopy's post is spot on.

Back to the point though. I think if a pilot has 1500 hours, and has no ability, he has lied on his resume and that will come out somewhere in an interview. Yes, sometimes guys fall thru the cracks. Ill grant you that it has some validity, but I wouldn't put it anywhere near the top of a list. jmho...

 

Lets see, an EtD candidate needs to be a Captain for 2 years and the current upgrade at Endeavor is what? Six to Eight? Isn't their plan also to go from the 160 planes they have now to something like 90? That should really help upgrade times. Also, the folks who don't pass their SSP interview are going to hang out in their Captain seats and reduce the amount of seats available for First Officers to move into.

So MAYBE a 6 year upgrade and then 2 as a captain for maybe 8 years to get to Big D. When you could go to someplace like Mesa, Compass, and PSA etc, with equally poor or slightly better pay, but a quicker upgrade and apply and get interviewed well before 8 years.

Maybe in a decade this will be a good program.

 

We're downgrading and have 7+ year first officers right now. If I were just starting out I'd go someplace else with a much shorter upgrade time. This program is just another half hearted attempt to solve a systemic problem.

 

Keep dreaming because that is never gonna happen...

 

T Square,

Our MEC is IMHO the world's best when it comes to finding leverage.

I do not expect this flow to deliver the operational reliability Richard Anderson desires across the bottom 40% of Delta's network. It is a quick band aid which creates more problems in the cockpits of Endeavor airlines. One can only imagine the entitled new hire with the grumpy crusty Captain who failed his interview. It is not an idea mentoring environment and maybe not even safe (as the two semi recent deadly accidents which hit Delta's books thanks to outsourcing proved).

You should understand that you benefit when:

• Management has a problem they need our help with
• We can offer longevity, which has an immediate value and a deferred cost
• We can increase our bargaining leverage by controlling more of the market

Please don't take offense, because I want you to gain. You (and those of your seniority) have to gain or else this is a political non starter ... but ... you've let ALPA transfer money from outsourced express jobs for years. Your saying "I'm not paying it back" comes across as pretty arrogant and entitled by those of us who had our careers put on hold for a decade or more due to outsourcing.

Your opinion is political fact (truth), but it's perceived as rude to rub our noses in it.

 

Now THIS adds an interesting ingredient to the discussion. If what you say is true, then the scope hawks that are all chafed under their saddle blanket can relax because DAL will never buy all of the super duper large RJs that they are all worried about. After all, if our exclusive carrier is downgrading and backsliding, why would they need them? But what this agreement would appear to do is to start the process of exclusive arrangements with the rapidly dwindling regional airline industry. Don't want to be exclusive? See DAL vs Alaska......

 

Depends. I's say the odds are improving dramatically as the next generation of jets gets heavier and Delta decides to be a leader instead of aiming just above "embarrassing."*

* yeah, got a data point for that under Mullin. I'd have to find the copy of his presentation on an old computer for the exact date.