Two times, my life was nearly cut short due to on-the-job incidents. Once, on the ramp at oh-dark-thirty in Fargo (you south guys will have to look it up on an Atlas), a ramper nearly ran me over on a snow covered tarmac with a baggage tractor. Missed me by about 2". (Yes, inches). Second time was riding in a hotel van, the van driver nearly had a head-on with a guy wearing coke-bottle lensed glasses coming straight for us, going the wrong way on the Interstate exit ramp (he was trying to enter, us exit). I always wear my seatbelt in the van--if available. Be careful out there....

Chuck

Not defensive at all. Please point to where I defended management in my question. It is a legitimate question of an assertion based on "forum wisdom." The forum(s) have a track record very similar to management's in terms of mistakes.:D

I'm saying that NYC-ORD already has substantial mainline service. NYC isn't JFK, it includes LGA and EWR. UAL and AMR already have hourly service. JBLU and CAL have substantial service. UAL and AMR have ORD hubs. JBLU has a JFK domestic hub larger than DAL. CAL's EWR hub is larger than DAL in LGA. It's my view that using large RJ's on that route allows DAL to "skim" already loyal business flyers from the other alliances without fare depression due to gross overcapacity in an already overserved market. It also induces some loss to the other carriers.

No question that Mullin/Reid/Burns screwed up. They are no longer here. We aren't aircraft limited, however. There are still desert aircraft that could have been brought back to service sooner. There is substantial aircraft utilization slack in some of the domestic fleet.

If you take a look at the PCL 10-Q, as part of the Mesaba deal the PCL/MAH CPA's were renegotiated. They provide for performance incentives AND penalties. The ASA/SKYW agreements already contain cost provisions that will trigger CPA resets. TSH is privately held, but I suspect the CPZ agreement was renegotiated in that light.

Didn't Mesa, a DCI carrier, file for bankruptcy?

Put it in the context of the time. BusEx was bought by AMR. Delta lost all their northeast feed into BOS and JFK. CMR was thinking of going independent. Some other airlines were looking at ASA in ATL. The purchases, while grossly overpriced, were defensive moves that protected Delta's hub operations. The sale of ASA was a fire sale to have enough cash to survive bankruptcy. We almost ran out.:eek:

The aren't. Your February 2008 profit sharing check was based on DAL's 2007 fuel hedging accumen. Again, please point to me the brokerage houses and airlines that called oil price swings from $60 to $147 to $35 in three months. I seem to recall Goldman calling for $200 bbl oil. SWA, which hit a homerun in hedging in 2008 is now underwater.

Yup, they make mistakes. Just as the forum does. Assuming that because a route was once mainline, or because it is a city pair between large cities that it can now support mainline is a forum mistake.

jmo, and I look forward to being told what a spineless, pro-management, pro-RJ, anti-mainline Delta pilot that I am...:D

Just checking, but didn't NWA nearly go bankrupt in 1993 AND go bankrupt in 2005?

Maybe all those gas guzzling DC-9's weren't as profitable as the "spin" you provide! :p

The RJ was disruptive technology. It didn't enter service until December, 1993. It ensured the demise of many mainline only cities, as other networks were able to connect to those cities where they couldn't with Saabs and DHC-8's. Delta has plenty of those examples as well (even the hometown of Monroe). We used to be the only game in town. It then got connected to IAH, DFW, and other hubs with ERJ's. That was the death of the 737/DC-9. Total seats are the same, just different networks flying them.

Slow, you spineless, pro-management, pro-RJ, anti-mainline Delta pilot!!! ;)

(Sorry, couldn't resist!) :D

Slow,

Quite the contrary - you are a DAL Pilot with strong opinions - Kudos. I don't have the time or the energy to get into a tit for tat. If you look at the original posters question I responded that "RJ feed is needed and serves a purpose." We will have to agree to disagree on just what routes are appropriate for RJs. I tend to think, with a few exceptions, that RJs are best on short less densely traveled routes.

Scoop

I hear you, glad to know everyone is okay. Most, and I mean most, of the A's I fly with buckle up. It's a good example.

Back in the Spring I was headed to work and just south of downtown on I85 there was an overturned SUV. It evidently had been there for two hours according to the radio. As I passed you saw the body of the driver halfway out of the side window and pinned under the car. Reason enough right there for me to hold fast to wearing a seatbelt at all times in a similarly top heavy van.

FtB;
More importantly if you have a family at home you owe it to them to be buckled. If you do not it is just selfish!

Ummm does anyone see the BS on this besides me?

If we aren't required to be in our seats prior to 20 minutes before departure, how can a maint issue discovered then be attributed to Flight Ops?

<<-Jan AE
A330 coming to ATL. Maybe Jan?>>

Are they coming from SEA?

I'll have to check my FOM, but I believe it increased to 30 minutes under DAL rules.