Good point..........or the real problem is I've been home too long with momma:eek::D

Delta, other airlines post profit turnarounds | ajc.com

I like the differentiation...a good strategy going forward.

Delta President Ed Bastian said the airline sees strong demand through the holidays. Corporate travel has increased and revenue is especially strong in international markets, he said.

Chief Executive Richard Anderson, during an earnings conference call, also expressed confidence that Delta will compete well in Atlanta against Southwest Airlines, which last month announced a deal to buy AirTran Airways, Delta’s chief rival in Atlanta. While the deal joins two leading discounters, Anderson suggested Southwest will have to boost prices to make it pay off.

“The only way to make that merger have the synergies that it’s broadcast to have is by increasing fares and revenues,” he said.

He added that Southwest has a “very different product” from Delta’s, including no first class sections, no assigned seats and a more limited sales distribution system.

“If you want international service” with flights around the world, assigned seats, business class and first class with airport lounges, “that’s the product Delta offers,” he said. A Southwest representative declined to respond.

I know. Stations like Orange Country want you out ten early and then when you go look at the times they change it to an OT departure.

Our negotiators need this contract as a model for starting in 2012. Maybe we can use a few of those "payouts and bonuses" for increasing our pay without advertising a huge raise in pay rates.
Here is a list for starters.

-Increased per diem - Our current reimbursement is well below IRS guidelines. We could double per diem before we start pushing IRS limits. It's also non-taxable if we stay within IRS limits.

-Paid parking for commuters - Skip the debate for a moment. It's a pre-tax way of increasing how much money someone keeps at the end of the month.

-Uniform allowance - It costs money to look as good as we do.

-Health club dues - You need to stay in shape for those sharp looking uniforms anyway

-Computer allowance - The company requires that I perform CBTs and bid each month. How about throwing a few $$ my way to offset that expense.

-Higher pay for CBTs - Completion time is typically double the run time, let's get paid for it.

-Training bonus, Checkride bonus - Complete your recurrent without any additional training requried and recieve a $$.

-Increased DC contributions - Tax deferred :)

-Night pay, International pay

These are all ways we can increase our NET without making a big splash about getting a XX% pay raise. Many of these are also non taxable like the parking, per diem and uniform allowance, making them even better.

I'll throw in a few more

1. 6 hour/day duty rig
2. 3/1 TAFB
These first two would also alleviate some of the productivity sits.
3. 5 hours per day vacation.
4. 6 hours per day training
5. No more reserve B scale

I've said it before. The SWA guys make all their cash on the lucrative rigs and contract loopholes.

1.) If you get bought off a trip and get 23K'd, you get to pass on any trip until you are the only pilot available in base.
B). Until Jepps go away, transportation between co-terminals is paid for: My flight kit is at JFK, and half my trips are out of LGA. I have to go to JFK to get my stuff....

The more we can gain in work rules and re-imbursements, the better off we will be. A sizable increase in our net pay and retirement benefits without advertising a big pay raise is what we should aim for imho.

When you think how far we've fallen in terms of this...:mad:

Trips touching vacation... you could get 2 weeks off with one week of vacation and get 45 hours for it. You could, if you wanted, pick up a shorter trip over the trip dropped days, and make even more... Now it's 3:45 A DAY. You could make twice that flying an international trip over 7 days, and because of that it's not only "worth less" it's havoc on PBS bidding. Went from a perk to a P.I.T.A.

Make me productive at work... but pay me for it and pay me for my hard earned vacation.

Don't even get me started on training pay.:mad:

I like the way you think. This 70 hour reserve thing is pure BS.

home basing - get me a ticket to the jet.