I agree 100%. DTW is a Turdhole, but you don't have to cover three airports, deal with the worst commute in the country, pay $300/mo for a crahspad, etc. NYC is a great place, not just a great place to be based unless you live there which 99% of the 12,500 of us don't. Right now you can buy a house in DTW for about half what you could a couple years ago. Junior folks will have more discretionary income in DTW than almost any other base at this point so I still think NYC will be more junior.

I'm saying why add a category that does essentially the same thing as a category that's already there? If you move the 90's why not just add more 73s? The 90's do a great job SLC to West Coast and operate nicely out of SNA. If it were my airline I'd move all the -90s to LA, put in AVOD/Sat TV/WiFi, and start flying north/south on the west coast again to pop Virgin's cherry. I know, already shuffled off to Alaska. Too bad for us.

So, am I to read that this summer, the majority of the Maddogs will be in ATL, NYC, CVG, MSP and DTW?


As to the argument of which base will go junior - my money is on DTW as well. Of the 1300 or so DAL NYC based pilots, the vast majority of them are on the ER - based out of only JFK, and is considered to have some of the best flying in the system. If the A330 picks up that flying, I think people will be willing to commute for it as well. Why on earth anyone would voluntarily commute to DTW for an MD88 is beyond me. Frankly, I'd volunteer for a furlough first. :D

You haven't been to Detroit then huh? :) And I live here! (well, not Detroit but 30 minutes west of DTW).

The area just doesn't have a good reputation, and not many jobs. Unemployment is near 10% in Michigan and the weather sucks in the winter (which goes from November to April).

...sounds like LA.

Gents,

As far as aircraft movements go here is what I understand the current climate to be. Feel free to correct errors or add omissions.

The co is having a hard time moving the metal between each others bases because NWA is very unionized and DAL is not. NWA union labor contracts specify that NWA's union employees cannot service, maintain, dispatch, load or unload, or work the gate of any airplane that is not utilizing union labor.

Therefore DAL has to work some kind of agreement with all those different unions before these jets can be moved and operate out of each others bases. I dont think the co will announce anything on the 9th if this is the case because these agreements take time and $$ to work out. Also, don't think that DAL is not trying to find a way to keep those unions off the property. Giving them more now will only empower them.

Uhhh, why live there?

Well, I have a job so I'm not worried about finding one here - at the moment ;-) and the wife and I are well situated here, so we don't want to move. It doesn't mean I like the weather - I'm just giving reasons why DTW is the junior base there.

Not true..NWA grd folks have done outside contract work for years...for both union and non union airlines...

That is not the issue. It is DGS doing the work on NWA jets.