That's right and I forgot... This was a "merge of equals!"

"Let me guess, you gave your kids a bowl of pi$$ed-in Wheaties for Christmas."

Interesting comment, not sure what you are getting at, but you did get me to respond so I guess it worked.

I am actually very happy about the merger and look forward to the opportunities it will provide.

Cheers

Heyas NTD,

Don't let these guys get to you.

These guys WANTED a ratio list. That's what they got. But, as it stands, you don't get everything you want, so, there goes those fences. They could have had nice TALL fences, but didn't feel like giving anything for it. That's the gamble of arbitration.

NWA guys take a hit in their movement in the coming years because the attrition that NWA brought is severely diluted. I don't mind sharing the attrition, as long as I get to make it up some other way.

Just so happens, this is the way. They get their movement later, we get ours now. It if pays more, bid what you can, when you can. Heck, do it even if it just means an easier commute.

Don't look back, and don't feel sorry. Being mad at a pilot because he bids for more money/QoL is stupid...like the parable of the stinging scorpion, it's just our nature. Maybe instead they should target their anger at their leadership that refused to negotiate an agreement that protected them, rather than exposing them.

It is what it is.

Nu

I think it is fair to say that different parts of the two pilot groups will be affected in very different ways. For instance the very to mid junior NWA narrow body pilots seemed to have improved their lot considerably. The 1995 hired NWA pilots probably the most, when viewing the options and relative positioning. The Junior Delta pilots and Mid senior (NOT top senior) NWA pilots are the two groups most negatively affected. Both of those two demographics will legitimately have much wrenting of garments and gnashing of teeth before them. Yeah it is a merger of equals but some parts of the equals are more equal than others. (Credit to George Orwell)

Of course you are.......especially considering that the NW guys got the best part of the deal. You got a pay raise, better equipment, WAY better bases. What did we DL guys get? DTW and MSP. Way to bring something to the table.:cool:

Actually, a minor point here is that we wanted a "fair" list. DOH was obviously out of the question for a number of reasons. What we all got, I think, was about the best we could've hoped for.

That being said, I wouldn't get too fired up about selling that house and moving south/west. I'm no expert here but I have been around awhile. DAL will manage the training costs very carefully. If they foresee a massive movement between equipment and bases, they will mitigate that. Pilots see things from a seniority list/fence perspective. Management sees things almost solely in terms of $$$ and profit vs. loss. Retraining all of the more senior old NWA and the more junior old DAL guys is a huge and expensive undertaking. IMO it will take years to make that transition a reality. More important, is the economy. Nothing happens until that works itself out.

To second that, during our last AE, there was a huge caveat that if the AE resulted in a large number of displacements or training costs, then DAL would cancel part or all of the bid.

Good luck to us all ....

-Fatty

Heyas,

And here was your mistake. You guys said it yourself: "%80 of NWA guys commute!". So what do we care about bases anyway? You get on a plane and go to work...what difference does it make if it's ATL or DTW?

Most NWA guys live where they live, and aren't going to pick up and move to a base no matter where it is. But if there's 6 flights a day to one hub versus 3 to another, I might make that change. OTOH, I can chase the airplane if it moves, something a guy rooted in a base might not do, which works to my advantage.

You guys put a lot of equity in something we don't really care about.

Nu

The only way a pilot can get into a/c or move bases is on an AE or on a displacement. I do not see any AEs on the horizon for sometime. I don't see any displacements out old NWA a/c into thoughs "good" 737 or 767 positions that the NWA guys want. I see displacements out of the 767 and 737.

I'm a SLC guy and I fully expect to not see much movement due to the no fences. I was hoping for fences to protect us until we got to the point that age 65 wasn't a factor, but we didn't get that. I'm sure SLC and LAX will see lots of old NWA guys come in to better their commutes. I would do the same if I were them. I don't think we will see many old DAL guys bid into NWA bases. The list is what it is, and overall I'm happy with it. The one thing that makes it easier for me to deal with the no fence issue is that the NWA guy that is one senior to me was hired seven years earlier and is about 12 years older. I'll let them stagnate my base for a couple of years because eventually they will retire many years before I will. I welcome all old NWA guys that want to come and I hope that life will be easier for those that commute from the West coast. Hopefully we will see growth in LAX and SEA heading West.