johnso29

Funny thing is they called me for a GS, then IA and then covered it by a WS. Lol.

Hope you do enjoy the weekend. I'm starting 4+ days on tomorrow.

slowplay

I cannot disagree with you more.

We could have "timed" ourselves into no merger. Remember $147 bbl oil just 4 months after the merger was announced? Remember every major air carrier furloughed pilots (UAL 1450, AMR has over 1800 out, CAL 147, ALA, even the regionals (DCI had over 1000 out). Had AMEX not agreed to the cash infusion, we'd have both been screwed.

That's not a lot of leverage in my book.

So both pre-merger pilot groups could be sitting back wondering when everyone was going to get recalled rather than how many we're going to hire. (The premerger NWA group complaining here wouldn't have been worried about newhires getting more DC than them, they'd be worried about when they were going to get a paycheck again.) Both could be sitting at real bankruptcy pay rates rather than the JCBA rates and 5.6% of the company in their accounts. On the Delta side we'd have opened section 6 in the heart of the airline recession. Great timing...

I'll pass on the leverage that you have to offer. We'll get to see a lot of who's right in the UAUA/CAL dance ahead of us. Merging seniority lists with a disparate number of guys on furlough would have been fun.....

acl65pilot

I have to agree with Slow. The merge created a hype in the financial sector that allowed a large cash infusion as well as great rates on restructuring bad debts in the worst credit markets in history. This mergers allowed all of that "hype" to work to OUR companies advantage. In turn it was good for us. This benefit may not be apparent to many, but it is there.

Waves

I'm a little bit more senior than him, but not by a lot. I guess I'll just have to come to terms with being on reserve for the rest of my career. Oh well, I can certainly think of worse things. My question was actually more of an inquiry about the A320 than what I could hold seniority wise. I don't think I have ever set foot in one. Don't know much about the machine. Thanks for your response. I appreciate it.

Nosmo King

I'll have to disagree with you as well. Everywhere you used the word both in bold letters could just as easily have read DAL depending on whose version of cash and cash equivalent position and financials you believe.. But that debate will never be settled.

IMO pilots only have limited opportunities to obtain GREAT leverage. Mergers that management wants, LBOs that want pilot support and strikes. A strike is not a good thing but it's purpose is leverage. LBOs give you short term leverage at the possible expense of long term corporate health. Mergers give leverage depending on the circumstances surrounding them. You and I disagree quite a bit on the circumstances. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

So much for focusing the irritation on management.

slowplay

No, the debate was settled. We now work for the same company. We needed each other to prosper when everyone else was cutting for survival.

Just a reminder, the cash and cash equivalent for both pre-merger companies was all debt. Both were junk rated companies. So where you write of DAL, you could easily replace it with NWA.


I reread your post. I didn't see a focus on management. I saw a focus on the JCBA and how it was negotiated (management beat us again...)

Denny Crane

Well, on a different note, I went to a Fltops management meeting and here are some of the highlights:

- Do not anticipate getting any 787’s for 18 to 24 months
- MD 90 qualification for NYC in Fall this year, ATL in Spring of next year
- Next AE Bid in Sep-Oct time frame
- Possible additional 747, 777 crews
- possible a few more 7ER crews in SEA
- SLC to ER category
- status quo for equipment base re-alignment…no equipment moves…..do not Want to “chase revenues” with base changes. Equipment requirements can Change fairly frequently on routes
- some DC 9 positions available too. Keeping some of the -40’s until 1st Quarter of 2011- I don’t know how many
- 40 crew schedulers total of which 28 are in their first year
- 330 bases staying where they are now. Possibly change later next year
- Hiring
- 305 this year
- 115-120 total flow ups
- as of 17 jun, 46 furlough bypass have sent in letters to come back
- preferential interviews for guys who had class dates canceled last time
- 2100+ apps in the system
- Project retirements to be about 10% for those 60 and over.
- Shipset jepps for 330 in July and 7ER in Oct.
- 2% capacity growth this year. Close to where we were pre-recession
- Should be 8 SAS MD90 coming. (SAS was what was said) Trying to get more
- Current debt of 16.4Billion. Expect to see that at 15 Billion by end of this year!
Aware now of the extra gas that the 330 seems to be landing with


Disclaimer, These are my interpretations of what was said.
Denny

Sink r8

I don't think you'll hear a single good reason. I think there was a very obvious bias. The ref might as well have worn a "Anything but USA" jersey.

The good news: our boys played like they meant it in the second half. I'm tired of seeing the US timidly running around the field, and acting as if there was such a thing as "passing credit". This is the sport the world plays, and it's been frustrating to see us win only in games noone else plays, and holding World Series that don't actually... involve the rest of the world.

Nice job, USA!

Scoop

Nosmo,

I think Slows post is right on the mark, but from your post I infer that you believe NW was in a much stronger overall position than DAL.

Wasn't that exactly the debate settled by the neutral third party arbitrators when they ruled both companies were essentially "equals?"


In case anyone else is getting tired of rehashing old arguments - how do I get a drop request to appear as Qualified open time?

Scoop

Denny Crane

Scoop,

You have to post it as a Personal drop via the PCS template.

Denny