Nu, I think it's a great idea.

That DC9 is a sexy looking ***** (Female Dog)

By fall, Delta’s fleet will include 219 regional aircraft with two-class service flying on 272 domestic routes.

I pulled this little gem out of a Delta press release. According to wikipedia (not a very reliable source, but still a source), the typical DC-9-10 was configured to 72 seats (12 in first and 60 in coach). It's nice to know that we'll have 219 aircraft with first class holding 70 seats flown by contract outsourced pilots. The company is proud of this saying it will improve customer experience. I say it's bullsh!t. The companies that are making money (Southwest, Airtran, JetBlue) have outsourced almost no flying. Pathetic. Delta doesn't want to get rid of the regionals. Delta wants to get rid of the 50 seaters. The reason Delta is buying MD-90's instead of new airplanes is to hold off until scope can be broken down further. It has nothing to do with going debt free or waiting for the next generation aircraft.

No it does not make sense..........so I am sure that is exactly what we will do. :)

Scoop

And that won't happen unless/until our elected union officials break down further.

Carl

Sounds like KMOV (the STL station that reported this) got a little carried away. They were they only ones to break this story, and with good reason - it had no merit. I would love a STL hub, but I think it was a classic case of somone told someone told someone something that got blown out of proportion a little bit.

from USA today:
A St. Louis hub for Delta?

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

That's what St. Louis TV station KMOV reported earlier today, but Delta was quick to downplay that report to Today in the Sky. The St. Louis TV station had reported "Delta would like to bring a hub to St. Louis with up to 80 flights a day."

But that's not the case, according to Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter. "We don't see any sort of large immediate expansion like this report suggests" for St. Louis, he told me this afternoon.

While Banstetter acknowledged Delta does see some growth opportunities in St. Louis, he said any expansion there by the nation's largest carrier would come incrementally and would target origin-and-destination traffic -- not connecting traffic.

Banstetter noted that Delta already has added some new capacity in St. Louis. Examples of that include a new route to New York LaGuardia and larger planes on Delta's existing flights to its Salt Lake City hub.

Today's KMOV report comes about a little less than a year after American Airlines essentially de-hubbed its St. Louis operation. A move by any of the so-called "legacy carriers" to establish a new hub at St. Louis would probably catch most industry observers by surprise.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: With AA's cuts, St. Louis will fall from the ranks of hub cities (Sept. 18, 2009)

Despite the airport's healthy capacity and desirable geographic location, most industry experts believe the city lacks the population and corporate base to support a large connecting hub.

KMOV notes in its report that Memphis is able to support a hub, even though that metro area has about half the population of St. Louis.

KMOV also points out the St. Louis airport's landing fees are much higher than those at Memphis, though the station acknowledges that "cargo flights help to offset the costs in Memphis, [which is] the home of Federal Express."

United and Continental airlines are on course to wrap up a new contract with their pilot unions by fall, a critical step if their megamerger is to deliver the $1.2 billion boost leaders of the carriers promised Wall Street.
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The carriers have created nearly 30 working groups to start planning how to combine key company functions, from flight operations to accounting, United CEO Glenn Tilton told reporters Thursday. To help guide them through the process, the carriers have hired consulting firm Bain & Co., which also advised Delta Air Lines in its 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines.

The sweeping process, which touches every aspect of the airline, is reminiscent of the restructuring United undertook during its three-year bankruptcy, Tilton said. "For us, it's a core competency," he said.

Delta's merger is very much front of mind for United and Continental leaders, since the combining of operations at Delta was achieved with the support of its pilots and with relatively little of the chaos that typically accompanies large-scale airline deals.

"This really does seem like a page out of the Delta playbook," Swelbar said of United and Continental's swiftly moving pilot talks.

But 18 months after its merger, Delta still doesn't have new contracts for many worker groups, a risk for United and Continental. Both airlines are also in labor negotiations with their flight attendants, customer service representatives, ramp workers and other groups, which are represented by different unions at the two carriers.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen...CONFERENCE.jpg

^^^ Its 1 am, Tsquare enjoying a good nights rest in a cozy comfortable bed suddenly awakes. He sits straight up in bed. His eyes wide open. He knows. He knows its 1 am and FTB has posted a picture of Lane Kiffin at USC right after leaving UT, and T smirks, he's going to get the last laugh after all. He's happy. GO BUFFS!!!!! he's says as he lays back down, his mind and soul at peace with the news that cheaters never win, even in make believe land.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. said Thursday it plans to offer first-class seats on all domestic flights longer than 750 miles -- about two and a half hours -- beginning this fall.

In Delta's June schedule, about 11 percent of seats are located in first or business class. Overall, airlines have seen a slight uptick in premium traffic as the economy has improved. Carriers hope business travel will grow further and they will be able to fill more of those expensive seats.
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http://lh5.ggpht.com/fisherwy/R1vrG6...picture%5B2%5D

^^^^ Tsquare sits up in bed, in a cold sweat. Swearing 5 minutes ago he had closed his eyes in peace but he forgot, no Lane Kiffin means no more Layla Kiffin! He cries. That FTB, he's such a jerk.

BTW, is that Layla Kiffin? That pic always pops up under her name, thought it might be her but wasn't sure. The other pics had Kiffin in them and I thought, why post that? BTW, best news report, "PETE CARROLL SHOCKED BY NCAA SANCTIONS" :rolleyes: "COLORADO BOLTS BIG 12 TO JOIN PAC 10, or whatever it is now." :D

So it is not just New that is getting attacked by FtB, Nice!

It's the Big 11 as of 4:40 AM EST. Let's see what it is at noon. :D