Funny they ended up with the highest block hour costs in the industry.

Short answer: no, of course not.

Long answer: that depends. first of all we are faced with an inexcapable version of exactly that scenario at all levels of our flying in every theatre. The yield trashers/capacity dumpers are about to go bat dung crazy flooding markets and from EK to JB they are counting on DL to gift them capacity to keep our YoY profit growth up. It is a collision course with reality and we will either have to fight that battle or slowly go away.

True, but the rub with this particular scenario was the panic chaotic urgency which it came about. Literally a coupld days after releasing bids based on keeping them, and hours before the bid closed, 1/4 of the fleet was suddenly parked. In the same breath they talk about growth in Asia.

Now, maybe we're parking 4 (soon all) 747's to replace all that lift with smaller planes like the 330. Fine, whatever. Less hourly pay but way more pilot jobs. But that doesn't seem to be the case because that's a lot of lift to be parked immediately, and only possibly replaced by future RFP's many years down the road. Those 330's that were supposed to be "growth" suddenly aren't anymore. What's next?

Are we shrinking to accomodate EK/etc growth? Making room for some failed pathetic government welfare case like Skymark by piling on our corporate charity at our pilots' expense? What's going on? Its a theatre poised for massive growth (much of it fake Keynesian growth that won't pan out, but there most certainlly is still growth potential there) or are we funding irrational competitors with capacity charity at our expense?

With all the "suddenly available" lift from the Atlantic seasonal pull down, how will that lift be replaced in time for the next upswing when we will only have a couple more 330's by then? Or do we plan on yielding that to our "partners" too? It seems like we could be getting set up for a huge in our face "grieve it, punk!" production balance where they just continue to gut the cure period evem more instead of actually curing anything, and then say "what are you going to do about it?" at the end and use it as leverage to baseline down whatever remedy they end up offering because hey, at least its something?


Displacing those positions would have a similar training waterfall effect as staffing them, at least for a while. Not to mention potential no freeze double bids, paid moves, etc.

The timing of this announcement, blatantly sugar coated on the front end with "good news" about first time captains and all that, just smells like a rat the more you sniff it. Something it up and this is only a small part of it.

Just call and ask anyone in the 330 program. First jet now will come in May. That's why no bids for the new jets yet.

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It is odd that they will pull 3 planes of flying in late Sept. but not displace until 2015. I'm sure there is a reason that we aren't seeing.

The fence.

Do you seriously think that DAL can have the reach it now enjoys without JVs and code shares? And if DAL didn't have that reach, how competitive do you think we would be, and as a result how big would we be? There is a balance that has to exist if we want to be anything bigger than SWA. To think we could/should have a scope clause that says ALL DAL passengers are to be carried by DAL pilots is incredibly naive. Now the part I DO agree with is that our language needs to be stronger... but the question as always becomes how do you enforce it, and what are the damages that would be realized if the company violates it? If it monetary, we are back to the old scope sales argument.....

I hear ya bruddah.

The dropping of the fence won't save the bottom 31 whale drivers, they cannot hold the 777. Just sayin'

When I last talked to a senior level manager about this , the 744 was the second most profitable aircraft. Second only to the 757-300. Supposedly when the 744's hit their lease renewals, it also coincides with what is projected to be higher maintenance costs. Those higher maintenance costs are what is projected to make the 744 unprofitable in the future. Now, second most profitable airframe.

NWA didn't fly "money losing" 744's because we always did it that way. Neither has Delta.

Pretty simple really. If they displaced 744 guys on the next few AE's, they'd be able to displace into the 777 and that would cause quite a downgrade waterfall. It's probably cheaper to stay a little fat given the retirements we have coming on the airplane.

Carl

Ummmmm what? There is a larger percentage of age 65 retirements on the 777 in the next few years than on the 747. If the displacements happened BEFORE the fence came down, the whale bubbas would NOT be able to displace onto the 777. As a result of waiting, a greater percentage of them will probably be able to displace onto the 777. You boys are protected without the fence.

Nothing Bar! It was the worst merger in airline history! Oh God why did it have to happen! :rolleyes:

Carl