Sorry but we can have the best seats and technology in the world; but as long as we're using second or third rate service we're losing the battle. The cat ranchers have got to be upgraded as well.

My perfect world:

Every year, as a part of their requal curriculum, FAs must prove that they are able to (a) lift a 30-lb bag and put it in an overhead, and (b) dive across two rows of seats and put their thumbs into a mannequin's eyes.

FAs should never, ever stand there while passengers help little old ladies or subdue terrorists *for them*.

Ugh. Flew it and flew it a lot. It was my first airplane flown at DL - did touch and goes in it at TYS to get the type. Last -200 I flew was ship 375 to Victorville. Sad to see. Wish I didn't see it.:(

Heyas,

FWIW, I have yet to fly with ANY DALN guy that wants anything to do with a company run pension.

Throwing money down that rathole is just another invitation to do exactly the same thing to our contract that they did back in 2006.

Nu

Are you even suggesting that our poor contract was tied to saving the pension. No way.......

Seats are a start but they ain't gonna do the trick. The "service providers" are truly Taco Bell vs Patsy's of the competition. Our laws unfortunately will never let us compete with the foreign carriers.

Would it be wrong if I like seniority for pilots determining what they get to do but not for flight attendants? I think the best thing we've heard is that they had to interview for charters. They ought to have to interview for international. Flying the 88 I run across some really really good flight attendants but even if they have 20 years they claim they can't touch international. Its a shame because we're not putting talent up there, we're putting age.

Although I did on my last ER trip have a mid to late 20 year old A line. Not flight attendant, I mean A line. He had been in the company I think he said 6-8 months. Part of the mafia. He explained it all to the flight attendants hissing at him on the van. As to meals, they went every which way but right not only in the cockpit but in the back.

Sure the 88 doesn't come with meals and if it does they're not what they were on the ER, but I do get a chance to eat and use the bathroom at least every 2 hours and I don't have to beg Helga to allow me to do so. :D

I did have a Helga A-line in JFK btw, not making that name up for comedic reasons.

I'm snickering. Maybe we ought to refer to our service as Taco Bell-like.

Speaking of service, here's a message I just got from a friend of mine:

WHY I'M NEVER FLYING DELTA AGAIN (unless you're the pilot): "Vermont. A cold destination. My home state. More than capable of handling the snow that brought wussy DC to its knees. But wait, it's snowing on the east coast somewhere, and my connection has been hampered by sub-par airport... crews in New York and Detroit, unable to deal with a mere 10 inches (of snow, that is). It's Friday morning, and the first time Delta can get me home is...Sunday. On a 5:50am flight no less. So I wait. Nothing wrong with Vermont for a couple of extra days after all. I go to a hockey game. I drink some beer. Sunday morning arrives -- and my flight is canceled. No reason. How could there be one, since there's no snow in sight in Vermont or NYC or Detroit for that matter? Just canceled. Now they can't book me on a flight home until...wait for it...TUESDAY! So I gave up and bought a ticket home on US Air. Lesson learned. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

We can be as prepared as we want, fly as safely as we want. If the rest of the team doesn't hold up its end of the bargain, we all lose.

I agree FC. But here's my take: I was flying last week in the Northeast as well. The "predicted snow" was no where near what they though. DAL cancelled a lot of flights trying to avoid the new passenger bill of rights that limits ramp time on the aircraft. I spent two hours needlessly in MSP waiting to fly into ATL for the snow that never came. Also, case in point: I flew back into SNA on the back end of a grueling 5-day. We had to wait for 45 minutes upon arrival for our (Delta) only gate to open. We've contracted the other two out to Alaska as part of the code share. Even though one of the Alaska gates was open, our ops wouldn't clear us in. So, we sat, engine running for 45 minutes.

When we deplaned, a Delta frequent flyer platinum dude laid into me about the delay. No clue, no thanks for the pristine landing into a 5701' runway, or the brand new airplane that smelled like a new car with satellite TV and wireless. Nope, he was ****ed that we didn't have a gate. Now THAT'S a company issue, not the weather or the bill of rights. Plus, the Delta ops guy I was appealing to on the radio could have cared less. That's a lack of customer service on all fronts. I'm with you FC, we can bust our ass for the cause but if the rest of the team doesn't step up, its on us.

USC won't even get a slap on the wrist.. you heard it here first.