Good for you... it still doesn't mean anything. Oh wait.. some guy at the gym who says he has an actualy subscription to the WSJ AND IBD told me there was an ad talking about..... IOW.. YOU may consider them credible.. I have not a clue whether they are the janitor at the Watergate or an actual source.

Yes, Comair is further reducing its fleet from 99 aircraft to 44 aircraft. They will have 16 CRJ200's left. The rest will be a mix of CRJ700/900 aircraft.

I think Comair is 'right sizing' for another sale attempt.

Bar,

I'm a fan of your in that the majority of your posts are well thought out and your arguments are usually quite cogent.

However, I'm not in favor of stapling (or integrating through other methods) significant quantities of pilots. Here's why:

[I suspect this next part may offend some people (and that's not my intent) but it is my opinion on this issue.]

In 20+ years of flying for DAL I've been very, very impressed with the pilots I've flown with. They are, as a rule, excellent aviators, hard working, "professional" and enjoyable to have a beer or two with on a layover.

Who you work with is a major plus or minus in terms of one's work environment. IMHO DAL has done an outstanding job of recruiting, vetting and hiring superior caliber individuals. (Note I've had the pleasure of flying with several former NWA pilots and they too are top notch!)

While unity may be a worthwhile objective, if it means stapling a bunch of pilots who otherwise would not have been hired due to qualifications, personality, etc. I'm against it.

Delta management is like a elephant. They never forget. They will never forgive the Comair pilots for the strike. That is why they have never seen the EMB170/175. If somehow we managed to convince management to merge the companies they would quickly dump all their aircraft and we would be left with a large number of pilots on furlough.
The only way to merge any DCI carrier is if we make the changes in scope to capture that flying otherwise we lose the flying to the lower bidders and have pilots on the street.

Wasatch,

Your opinion is understandable and personally, I've got some real concerns about a group we have flowing up to us currently based on objective, first hand, knowledge. (we will leave it at that) But the administration of our union and our MEC can't be based on personal bigotries (and for the most part it isn't). A union gets its strength from the people it represents. It needs membership to be effective. Our union is most powerful when it represents the sum total (a monopoly) of pilot labor.

Delta's merged a bunch of airlines in its history. The Pan Am guys worked out ok, although a few were stapled in from Ransome's ATR operation. You use the positive example of Northwest and I agree. Once pilots come on board they become Delta pilots and act like Delta pilots. If they don't, it is management's job to reform them, or get the bad apples removed from the bushel.

So, while you and I have common concerns on a personal level, the administration of our union has to take the high road, promote our interests and always defend our jobs (even the bad apples). Our union can best benefit us when it seeks to protect our seniority list, our longevity and our work. The best tool the union has to do this is unity.

Like a safety culture, it is a mindset.

(sorry for the boring posts)

Now where's the fun in that:p

Very true. Good post.

Hope you don't think I was coming after you with this Comair stuff.

What genuinely surprises me about how management has run Comair, is their seeming to forget that Comair is a Delta asset. The purchase, the expensive build out, then thorough trashing of an asset was (and continues to be) a blunder.

Wonder if senior management sees revenue generation and operations as two functions so distinct that it truly does not matter to them who provides the flying?

Flying Douglas equipment does that to you.

The larger RJs may be an asset, but the rest of Comair is a liability.
The "all RJ" white elephant terminal in CVG, the 50 seat jets, etc. - all money losers.
And sailingfun is right about the pilots. The senior guys are poison.
Management wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole (or a stapler). And no other airline wants that headache.
The flight attendants are no picnic either.

Comair is a write-off.