First, I doubt the Delta MEC or virtually anyone else at Delta (excluding RA and his officers) or on this board truly understands inflation. Specifically, where it comes from and why it is always present. So other than sticking a sharp stick in ones eye sufficient to force one to bone up on inflation, providing a chart showing the dilution of real spending power is a waste of time. It is not like being aware of it somehow provides the hidden leverage to ever get lost purchasing power back. That is why it is called inflation. By definition, purchasing power is stolen from you and you don't get it back. If we were to stay in front of inflation, there would be no inflation. Get it?

Some will say the above is a defeatist attitude. Not really. Your future earnings are subject to inflation, not necessarily your past earnings. Whether your retained past earnings, in the form of savings, is subject to and doomed to suffer the effects of inflation are totally up to you and whether you are smart enough to manage them properly. I admit no defeat there. But, to believe that somehow I will ever see lost earnings plus inflation is a fantasy that deserves no further discussion by serious thinkers such as me.

As far as concessions, everyone I know understands fully what was sacrificed willingly (overwhelming majority that did not include me BTW) outside of bankruptcy, then later during bankruptcy.

The MEC did a good job of showing us where we were, what happened and when. They are not equipped to deliver a lesson in economics, nor is the pilot group willing to submit to such a lesson. A shame really because most are able.

Soon we will get a comprehensive description of where we are now relative to our peers. I thank them for this information. I will handle it from here and will determine real value that I require in a future contract. My expectations will result from that analysis, done by me and not the MEC. I am an expert in that department where they aren't and shouldn't be.

BTW,

Inflation is an exponential function. A good primer on exponential functions and their implications is given by Chris Martenson in the Crash Course.

The Crash Course | Peak Prosperity

The key element to understand is time. Without considering it, you are blind to exponential effects. Most humans do not naturally think in exponential terms, so it takes effort. However, once you become comfortable thinking exponentially it becomes a simple task.

Try it.

Wow.... soccer is really boring. That is all.

Germany is good at passing, though.

Who is a buyer at $35?

DAL - SharpCharts Workbench - StockCharts.com

You got my hopes up, too. That was cruel.

Why Delta spent $2+ billion in stock buybacks and dividends, while the DCI network is crumbling, the small narrowbody fleet needs new airframes, and the pilots deserve restoration, is beyond me.

Two words: stock holders.

To understand, you have to grasp that management doesn't really understand the cost side of the business. What does it cost to deadhead pilots through the system, displacing revenue? Delta knows the cost of a Delta pilot, it is "credit" on a pay sheet. The same metrics simply do not exist for DCI.*

What does a DCI gate actually cost? What is the opportunity cost of using a gate for a CRJ when a 757 could fit in that same real estate. How about ground handling services?

Because management does not allocate it's costs properly, the resulting profitability of DCI and the appeal of outsourcing remains enormous.

Why does Delta management operate 4 carriers in and out of LGA, with the resulting loss of aircraft and crew utilization, not to mention expense and loss of operational integrity? ... because their model is not sophisticated enough to provide these answers.

Management, under the mantra "outsourcing good ... union pilots bad," developed an accounting system to fulfil a prophesy that came from the top down. ALPA, for it's part, is perfectly willing to accept the flawed system since it overvalues the credits provided for scope sales.

Nobody has challenged management and perhaps only a very few can (and perhaps nobody can and keep their job).

The good news is that the former NWA managers are not beholden to the Leo, Fred and Michelle business model ... it is going away as fresher faces take another look and ask, "why do we spread costs like that ?"

* Delta (and all major carriers') reporting under form 41 has been and remains a mess under form 41. There is very little visibility into how the costs are handled, but there is obvious nonsense, like DCI flying returning a 25% plus ROR when mainline is under 10%. That just tells the reader that one side's cost burden is being carried by the other side. When you speak with senior managers (who should know) notice how often they are wrong about who actually provides DCI services! In the last 60 days I have had both ALPA admin and management VP's make statements that were not correct since 2007. Delta, on the accounts payable side, has been a mess.

Bwahahahahaha!

The reason they own stock rather than run their own company is that ROI is far better and easier as a shareholder. They don't preoccupy themselves with running Delta Air Lines. That is what RA is there for. They want ROI, period. RA's job is deliver that. To do that effectively he must balance quite a few opposing needs, those of the shareholder, those of the employees, capital needs, etc. A good CEO finds that balance.

RA is the best airline CEO in the business, The market agrees.