Originally Posted by Hixdog

Plop, I think you need to go back in time when the regionals were just that "regional". There were many of them---PBA, Air Virginia, Air Kentucky, Air Illinois, Britt,Comair and many many more. They may or may not have had a major airline connection.

Deregulation happened and that is when regionals started to consolidate and weren't so "regional" anymore.

To state that the career is worse because of regionals is a bit of a stretch. Many careers started at the small regionals (mine included) and we wouldn't be at the majors years later without them.

Originally Posted by Scoop

Dude,

You really need to learn more about the subjects that you are posting on. The DAL Pilots took a 32% pay cut exactly as you suggested above. It resulted in two things: Jack and Squat. Correction, three things, Jack and Squat and a much lower baseline from which to further lower our pay another 14%. So yes besides the 42% pay cut we took we should have took pay cuts to stop management from employing RJs.

The company went into BK anyway. They had their BK contingency plan in full force and executed it flawlessly resulting in more and larger RJs.

Did mainline pilots make mistakes when the RJ threat first appeared? Absolutely, but more out of naivety and ignorance then avarice as you suggest.

Scoop

Originally Posted by zippinbye

The answer to your question is probably a "yes," given years of service to the company. The essence of my post was to introduce another category of individual that is harmed by the elevated boarding priority for a group of non-Delta employees, not to pit myself against a hard working regional pilot. I was not trying to be nasty. Nor did I describe a class of individual as you seem to be interpreting (retired, disabled former pilot with nothing to do ...). First of all, pilots are retired or not. Disabled is not retired until retirement actually occurs. As a current disabled pilot, I can assure you I have better things to do than fly around as a non-rev. Until the day I need to. When I MUST fly somewhere, my only option is on Delta or Delta Connection as a S3B. A retired pilot would also have access to OA travel options. I do not. The point is a new segment of S3A travelers places a disabled pilot in a worse position than they are already in. Right you are about where unpleasantness should be directed. Delta management is doing no favors to a group of folks who provided years of dedicated service to the company, many of whom will resume such dedicated work. I have no beef with any Endeavor employee over exercising a priority that is offered to them. I would do the same thing in their shoes. I also hope that an Endeavor employee might observe the plight of others such as myself, and voluntarily take a jump seat to help out on a full flight, as I have done my entire career.

Originally Posted by poopplop

So we agree that they made mistakes. I already acknowledged that they took a pay cut. I also said they chose to sell scope before taking a larger pay cut. Please catch up with the conversation before replying.

Originally Posted by Scoop

Yes, mistakes however above you continue to characterize it as a willing choice to trade Scope for pay increases.

Scoop

Originally Posted by poopplop

Yes. That is the mistake. You say they did it out of naivety and ignorance. I agree. I was not there and I cannot read the minds of every single voter. But if you are claiming there was no self-preservation involved on behalf of the pilots, I will disagree. It is not cheaper to outsource and pay for multiple company structures than it is to fly for a cheaper rate for a single company. Outsourcing was not required to save the airline. Outsourcing was required only to maintain higher rates for the more senior pilots, who were not laid off and replaced by dirt cheap regional contractors.

Originally Posted by Mesabah

Comair was going for DOH, mainline pilots would have had to shed ALPA to protect themselves. It would have been US Airways/America West on steroids.

Originally Posted by poopplop

The mainline could have instead chosen to take pay and contract hits to prevent the outsourcing of their jobs in the first place. And besides, JUNIOR guys were laid off. Probationary guys were laid off. Not the senior guys with voting rights. Not the senior guys who are now happy in retirement. Again, there is no excuse. The choice was still made to sell scope, and not by regional pilots.

Originally Posted by poopplop

That's great but I don't see how that applies to anything I've said. Comair shouldn't have existed in the first place (as a WO).