Originally Posted by Bucking Bar (Post 1695920)

Depends on who you are quoting. This is a decrease from what the recruiters were told just a week or two ago. It is very large increase from any official numbers posted by Flight Operations management.

The new LOA will help our staffing. Erosion of top line scope and a merger with a carrier which is under-utilizing it's crews and aircraft will hurt; we've seen that before.

I don't know anything and only have my own analysis to work on, but, both Hawaiian and Skymarks have significant network issues that Delta can fix. Skymarks problems are so bad that Airbus is refusing to deliver new specially built and configured A380's because it fears it will never be paid. Airbus states before JFK - Haneda flights can begin, Skymarks must have a codeshare partner. Further, the other carriers in the region all enjoy immunized joint ventures except for .... Delta.

Skymarks CEO (my impression) is a bit of an idiot and maybe lacks integrity making him a very difficult player to actually do business with. They need an IT solution, they need a network solution. Only Delta has what they need, but they have thus far stubbornly refused. I've never seen a manufacturer be as blunt as EADS has with Skymarks. Makes for interesting reading.

Korean Air is much more pragmatic even though it is a State owned carrier.

Then we have Hawaiian, who is doing well on inter-island flying, but who faces challenges on their long haul network. None of the Asian long haul carriers are doing particularly well, but Hawaiian's assets would instantly be more productive and profitable in the Delta network. We should have bought them at $5.60 a share. But if you see the cash we just set aside, it is near current market cap at 3x the valuation where I got tired of waiting and sold my shares.

... and I do not know if means anything, but those smart men who ran for and were elected to our merger committee had already built integration models for Hawaiian pilots.

Originally Posted by Schwanker (Post 1695934)

DALPA seems to take credit for the 717 citing C2012. The only thing C2012 did was allow MORE 76 seaters.

DALPA claiming C2012 is responsible for XXX Captain positions is no more credible than saying C2012 is responsible for sudden retirement of 747s. I just wish DALPA focused more on protecting my career and less on patting themselves on the back and taking credit for anything good at Delta.

Originally Posted by vprMatrix (Post 1695930)

Good Scope.

Originally Posted by Starcheck102 (Post 1696007)

Excerpted from the Crew Resources Monthly Update for the August 2014 Bid Period, published July 8 2014:

"744 – DTW will see the vast majority of the 744 departures in 2015. We have not been made aware of plans to retire any 744 aircraft and we have no plans to open another 744 pilot base. We will add 744 pilots on future AEs to maintain our 744 pilot count as pilots retire and 744 First Officers upgrade to Captain."

The gyrations are only making this worse.

Originally Posted by forgot to bid (Post 1695967)

Is it a charter utilization issue? You can take 3 or 4 out and still operate the schedule?

Delta also will cancel its flights between Tokyo-Narita and Hong Kong and Nagoya to Manila as the 747-400s will be retired.

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1695945)

I don't know. Maybe we Delta pilots should join a union and find out.

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1695945)

If we do join one someday, we'll get a scope which won't say what airplanes the airline must buy, but WHO will fly them.

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1695945)

It does no such thing. The only thing that decides our share of the flying is Delta management in its sole discretion.

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1695945)

Yes it does...but whose jobs?

Carl

Originally Posted by Starcheck102 (Post 1696007)

Excerpted from the Crew Resources Monthly Update for the August 2014 Bid Period, published July 8 2014:

"744 – DTW will see the vast majority of the 744 departures in 2015. We have not been made aware of plans to retire any 744 aircraft and we have no plans to open another 744 pilot base. We will add 744 pilots on future AEs to maintain our 744 pilot count as pilots retire and 744 First Officers upgrade to Captain."

The gyrations are only making this worse.

Originally Posted by newKnow (Post 1696021)

4.) On July 31st (today) they release a memo explaining that they are retiring the 747's because "in the coming months" they are reducing capacity in the Atlantic, which will free up 777's and 767's to redeploy to the Pacific.

Originally Posted by 10000 (Post 1695975)

So, am I wrong, or is this what happened?

1.) For months, they have been waiting on planning/marketing to come up with final "numbers" so as to put out an AE to staff the airline for 2015.

2.) They finally get the projected "numbers" and release an AE on July 15th, based on that projection.

3.) On July 30th, they release the results of the AE and announce that they are retiring four 747-400's by the end of the year and do not fill the 8 captain positions they posted on the 15th.

4.) On July 31st (today) they release a memo explaining that they are retiring the 747's because "in the coming months" they are reducing capacity in the Atlantic, which will free up 777's and 767's to redeploy to the Pacific.


So, they've been waiting for months for "the plan," they get "the plan," but then they change "the plan" within two weeks?

If that's what happened, you would think that they would take a little more time to make such a big decision. Especially, when it took them so long to come up with the original plan, in the first place. :confused: