Last time I checked Ken Watts had been chased out of all his ALPA positions. I've flown with him quite a bit this year and he is still getting phone calls from pilots that think he has an official position.

Yes Ken was effectively chased out earlier and I don't know who is doing contract admin and or grievance . But yes they tell us that we are all delta now.

You mean the guys at levels more concerned with stock prices than the day to day ops?:rolleyes:

If the new FCs are good guys, fine and I guess I'll hold judgment or take your word for it.......for the moment.

However, I continue to be concerned that we continue to put "good old boys" who don't see any problems in the way we've always done things in positions of leadership. "Move along nothing to see here. New equipment, policies, procedures? Why would we need things like that".

If they are for "best practices", fine, like I said I'll watch and wait for now.

Constant improvement is the foundation of TQM...........adapt to changes in technology and business environments or die.

Well the IT person is from NWA and she is a phenom. So they are trying to adapt.

As for Flying Ops, lots of good pilots working up there. The whole perception can be off some times as well. I figure that it will iron itself out over time. I too watch the changes with great interest.

My opinion is that this is the first move in to bringing the Standards and Instructor ranks back together. Just a guess though.

You're right she is incredible! Why would you think that its a step to move the Standards and Instructors back together? Still don't get that separation of church and state.

I figure with the fleet Captains not being tied to a specific fleet, the next step will be to have LCA's doing some sim work so that our training mirrors the line. I have heard a few errant comments about this over the past six months, and it seemed that they were leaning in that direction.

As I understood it, reverting back to a one sided training command was something they were looking at. I suspect that to get a better transition from schoolhouse to line that may be the way many are pushing. Just a guess though based on a few comments here and there.

I thought I did, because the 7ER guy is a fNWA guy, and because this is the fleet that's set up to have the most cross-polination, but I can't say there's been any visible impact whatsoever.

I would guess this is a political thing, because two fleets doesn't seem like it's a coincidence. I further would guess someone in Flt Ops was getting resistance, and didn't like it. When I say "guess" I'm not trying to get a point across obliquely: I really don't know how the Fleet Captain matters, and I don't know who on the 4th floor might care.

Did Fleet Captains have much impact at NW?

You mean just like NWA did it. In my opinion as a LCA it produces a better product out the door. You don't end up with such a disconnect between the schoolhouse and the line. I can't tell you how many times I have heard my students say they were told "don't worry about that, you'll get that on OE" I realize some of this cannot be taught in the sim but it is much better to have a sim instructor who has been flying the line and can provide some real world "best practices"

Yep. We need a lot more airlift and tanker guys. Not to stir the pot (ok, maybe a little). ;)

There was a move to bring some LCA's who were former APD's back into the mix and let them do both LCA work and Sim work. There were 5 of them in the 757/767 fleet. ALPA and DAL explored ways to expand Standard's Capt's to other fleets but were unable to reach an agreement. The Standards Captain program is terminated effective 31 Dec.