SIDE QUESTION:

How does the company repay us for our medical. Do we need to submit a copy of the expense?

what wire???

it should be auto paid once u fax in your new medical.. if i remember right

After you submit your medical certificate to the company, your payment will be reimbursed next pay check as a fixed amount (ekg no ekg rate)

Announcement on Routes....
 

It doesn't hurt to check on it though. Mine wasn't auto-paid, had to call the CPSC and they got it straightened out.

New Schedule
 

It's out.

Delta's new and expanded nonstop routes for summer 2010 will be focused in three regions: Trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic and Africa.
Region Route Effective* Aircraft Frequency
------ ----- --------- -------- ---------
Trans- Seattle to Beijing, June 4, 2010 Boeing 767-300 Five times
Pacific China weekly
Seattle to Osaka, June 7, 2010 Boeing 767-300 Daily
Japan
Detroit to Hong June 2, 2010 Boeing 777-200 Five times
Kong weekly
Detroit to June 1, 2010 Boeing 777-200 Five times
Seoul-Incheon weekly
Detroit to June 1, 2010 Boeing 777-200 Expanded
Shanghai, China from five
to seven times
weekly
Tokyo-Narita to June 1, 2010 Boeing 747-400 Upgraded
New York-JFK from
daily
Boeing
777-200
to
747-400
aircraft
Tokyo-Narita to Los June 1, 2010 Airbus A330-200 Expanded
Angeles /Boeing from
777-200 seven to
11 weekly
flights


Trans-
Atlantic New York-JFK to May 27, 2010 Boeing 757-200 Daily
Copenhagen,
Denmark
New York-JFK to May 27, 2010 Boeing 757-200 Daily
Stockholm, Sweden
New York-JFK to June 3, 2010 Boeing 747-400 Upgraded
Tel Aviv, Israel from
daily
Boeing
767-300
to
747-400
aircraft
Seattle to June 1, 2010 Airbus A330-300 Expanded
Amsterdam /Boeing from
767-300 seven to
10
weekly
flights


Africa Atlanta to Accra, June 1, 2010 Boeing 767-300 Three times
Ghana** weekly
New York-JFK to June 1, 2010 Boeing 767-300 Three times
Abuja, Nigeria** weekly

*Effective dates denote first U.S. departures
**Subject to foreign government approval

Sorry, can't get the silly thing to format right.

"...At Seattle,Delta's Asian expansion is powered by its partnership with Alaska Air Group. New nonstop flights from Seattle to Beijing and Osaka will be timed for convenient connections with Delta and Alaska's 267 combined daily departures to 64 destinations from Seattle/Tacoma, and will complement Delta's existing daily service to Tokyo-Narita. Delta and Alaska offer customers reciprocal codeshare, lounge and frequent flyer benefits to make it easier to connect between the airlines' domestic and international networks at Seattle..."

Considering the little game of tit-for-tat with AMR surrounding JAL, the retaliatory route changes by AMR, and the end of JFK terminal negotiations, I wouldn't be surprised to see a bidding war for ALK (provided AMR were to lose JAL). We have some rights with respect to a merger with ALK, but I wouldn't be surprised to see us being forced to bid higher...

I would bet ALK would be an important piece of the puzzle in any future consolidation event.

SEA-PEK: B767 (5/week)
SEA-KIX: B767 (Daily)
SEA-AMS: A330/B-767 (10/week)
DTW-HKG: B777 (5/week)
DTW-ICN: B777 (5/week)
DTW-PVG: B777 (Daily)
JFK-TLV: B747 (Daily)
JFK-ABV: B767 (3/week)
JFK-ACC: B767 (3/week)
JFK-CPH: B757 (Daily)
JFK-ARN: B757 (Daily)
LAX-NRT: A330/B-777 (11/week)

Does this mean some 757/767/777 vacancies in the upcoming Jan AE?

I doubt it. They seem very overstaffed as it is at the moment.

Maybe there are 777 deliveries driving a few of these routes, for which we haven't seen an AE yet. That's about it.

I would guess the January AE won't be as full of displacements as we might fear, but I doubt it offers any 767/7ER vacancies.

Would any DAL-S guys care to share some info on their current Health Care Plan? I'm looking through the Account Based plans, and have never used one before. I've always used an HMO or PPO equivalent, and was wondering if anyone could give their opinions on which they like better and why. Just trying to make the decision if I want to switch.

Thanks in advance.

To add, you'll get $116 for a normal physical and $191 for a physical with an EKG. If your AME charges you more, you're out of pocket the difference. If he/she charges less, you're smiling to the bank.

So those of us who are 40+ and need a physical every six months will get a check for $116 and $191. There's no need to send in a receipt from the doctor's office.

It's all in the PWA, Section 25.K.1.

I have the Gold HRA which cover me and my 3-year-old son. My wife has her own benefits through work, but they charge a lot to add a dependent, which is why my son is under my plan.

I've only used it for minor things (doctor visits) and it seems to work alright. I like the fact that there's no copay. DL puts a $1000 into the account every year from which the doctor fees are drawn. The money deposited accumulates each year. So far, I've only tapped into part of it.

I haven't had any big ticket items yet, although I'm looking at getting an MRI for my shoulder and possibly surgery after that (at least some type of physical therapy). I'd also be interested to hear what experience others have had with "big ticket" events.

Unless you're in a position to immediately fund your own health savings account or don't plan on getting sick/injured any time soon:), the Gold HRA is probably a good option.

Obviously not a DAL-S guy, but with a family of three, soon to be four, with both kids under the age of five, I'm leaning towards the Gold HRA option because of the larger contribution and the lower deductible. Wait until your young'un hits preschool... germ central.

Having said that, I would also appreciate some opinions on the different plans from guys in similar family situations.

So at this point, is it best for DAL to let AMR have JAL? I mean its great to run up the price on them but what if we get stuck with it? Is this a game of chicken to see who'll jump out of the JAL bid before the car goes off the cliff?

Question about this email from DALPA with LOA 19 and FOQA; to date, has Delta not been collecting FOQA data to date or have we and just not done anything with it?

I'm a Gold HRA man myself. Seems to be the most similar to the Delta pilots plan without taking half my paycheck.

huge fan of the Diamond HSA. Tax-free contributions and it's completely portable. For a guy in the bottom 10%, that's significant.

We had FOQA before along with ASAP. A previous executive (now working for United) was of the mind that FOQA and ASAP data should be used to punish pilots rather than enhance safety. ASAP and FOQA were both pulled by the union until a change in direction occurred. We now have both ASAP and FOQA back with that change in direction.

Will the data be published?

The reason I ask is that the data is pretty informative and you hear stuff in dribs and drabs from a LCA, usualy an incident that you know you could learn from, and it always make me ask well what else is there?

That's what I like about publishing ASAP/FOQA. It'll make us more informed and thus safer.

For instance, a LCA I flew with me and explained how someone he was requalling after they were dequalled for messing up the DP out of CVG, he showed me the mistake and it was so easy to do. So I'm a little better off but why can't ever DAL pilot see what happened and learn what to double check for.

Capn,

In the month you get your FAA Medical, after your birthday, you get the larger amount and if you need a medical every six months, you will get the lesser amount 6 months later. Be careful when you look at your paycheck to look in the right place for the amount. Not sure if you are getting the "Delta" instead of the "Northwest" paycheck to look at but if it's the first, look for the amount on the righthand side of the stub under the "deductions" column. It will read with a minus sign which is actually a credit. This is best because it is not taxed as it is a business expense being reimbursed.

As far as medical plans go.....I've had the diamond HSA plan since it's launch. It's been great for me and mine. If you are a high or a low user of medical care, I think it is the best way to go. If you are a "medium" user, it might not be so cost effective. As long as you are "in network" the most you can spend in HC expense is $4600 a year plus the premium taken out of your check. Plus you can contribute around $5000 for a family pretax for the year and then use it down the road for just about anything you want as long as you keep your medical bills to withdraw money from the HSA. This bears repeating, under this plan, keep all your medical bills that you do not submit for reimbursement because you can submit them years down the road to get reimbursed! Then you can use the money for whatever you want!!!

There are restrictions to who can get the HDHP's. If you go the HSA option, pay careful attention to what you can do with a flexible spending account (FSA), it is very restrictive.

Denny

Believe there is about 3 years of previous data, last I heard is that we will be going through the past data a month at a time; will stop when it stops yielding relevant info.

If you have kids in college all of the plans teminate coverage wise for the kids after age 23...if they continue on to grad school you can either look at other coverage or the N plan.

Denny, were you in MSP today?

Subscribe to the Aviation Safety Reporter as well. There is always good info in that. Also read the "Cut and Paste"
In effect you need to subscribe to the data or go look for it, but it is there. I always read every fleets publications. There is great info in there. Well worth the time it takes!

Could someone estimate the relationship between these extras and reductions this fall.
Overall, comparing to summer 2008, still reduction or growth?

Also it's not enough for SEA ER base, is it?

Thanks

I do not think that they included the transition from 330 to ER in here.

Looking forward to lots of DH's this summer :D

I think from what I've heard it is roughly the same as summer of 2009,ie no change in asm's year to year.Maybe for us pilots an increase because of all the DH'ing. I doubt there will be any base changing untill after summer so that in case network changes plans again there won't be useles pilot bases (think NYC 777).

Delta pilots want separate union for Compass
By Kelly Yamanouchi
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By a narrow margin, Delta Air Lines' pilots union leaders have recommended the creation of a separate union branch to represent pilots at a regional carrier acquired as part of the merger with Northwest Airlines.

Delta pilots want separate union for Compass | ajc.com

---
Comair continues to fade away
Comair continues to fade away | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer

---
Skywest loans $80M to UAL at 11% interest (less than the 18-23% RA mentioned that UAL was getting from regular sources) and ASA will start doing some flying for them.

SkyWest, Inc. Announces Funding Arrangement With United Airlines, Extension of United Express Flying and United Express Flying for Atlantic Southeast Airlines - Yahoo! Finance
---
Lethal Injection Ban Leads To Rise In Back-Alley Lethal Injections
http://www.theonion.com/content/news..._leads_to_rise

---
The Northwest operation broke its 2008 record for 100% system completion days Monday, scoring its 39th perfect completion day for the year.

Forgot to Bid,

I've asked myself the same: is this a case of "winners lose"? I mean, from a pilot perspective, do we want to have the company defend the Narita operation (i.e. with flights), or do we want a lucrative arrangement that favors JAL pilots and the stockholder at our expense?

I think the answer is that we need a satisfactory arrangement that includes Haneda access, either with or without JAL. If it's with JAL, we need specific agreements on how the flying is split up. I would say something like the JV with AF/KLM, except more transparent, and more favorable, if we end up as part of the team that bails them out.

I don't see much downside in causing AMR to bid up JAL, in the meantime. I also don't see a problem being on the money side of an airline bankruptcy. Maybe it turns out to be a good investment?

And it seems that the die were cast when we started to speak with JAL. Whether or not AMR tries something with ALK is out of our hands; we're stuck with a more competitive stance from AMR no matter what we do now. I'm OK with it: I'm tired of working for the airline that runs away.

Anyone know how this new LGA "hub" is going to affect staffing on the 88 in NYC? Are they looking to put more bodies up there or are they going to fly it out of all the bases?

The plan as stated is to have 10,000 block hrs out of NYC. Now it was not stated if it would all be flown by NYC 88 pilots, but I see the 88 in NYC growing, a lot.

The LCA's meeting, if the LCA I was flying heard it right, was that the 88 NYC would not increase initially (say until Fall 2010) despite the expanded flying. After that he didn't know.

ACL, is April the move in date to the near terminal in LGA? Thats what I heard along with its all mainline flying and we'd start seeing stuff like LGA-BUF 6 x a day. Not sure if that was all correct or not because he mentioned 3-5% growth per month and thats obviously not the case.

But I hope ATL gets a lot of this flying because for one, I want to stay here and two, I want Roosevelt overnights, I love that place.

3-5% per year.

We will move in LGA when it gets approved.

BTW I love you new Pic Forgot to Bid!

The restart of SLC-NRT is conspicuously absent. Sounds like 2 day layovers in LAX for A330 crews (or lots of deadhead to/from LAX).

SEA-KIX the hotel is a 55 minute bus ride from KIX, Its a nice hotel, but you are actually closer to downtown Kobe and New Kobe airport than you are to KIX. Before you start complaining, the old hotels in downtown KIX (all 4 of them over the last 18 years) were also a 55 minute bus ride due to heavy traffic.

DTW-HKG I talked to the HKG station manager a few days ago. He said they can usually fill Biz class with revenue passengers. I think this will be a good route for us, I just wish it was a daily.

Question:

DTW-PVG, DTW-HKG and DTW-ICN will likely require 2 airplanes per route due to flight time. Where did we get the 6 extra 777s from? I know we pulled them off ATL-NRT and ATL-HNL...

They pulled JFK-NRT as well. Those guys only had that route, does this mean we'll see a DTW 777 base?

I believe we're taking 2 more 777s shortly.

I doubt there will be a new base until later next year.