And what will he say in 2013 when pilot costs go up $2Billion/year?

You're assuming it's there because of an OE, right? Why can't the pilot just have picked it up and decided he made a mistake and doesn't want it any longer? He may have picked it up because he thought that trip looked more attractive to other guys in the category than the one he previously had on his schedule, and thus someone might pick it up freeing his schedule of all trips during that time frame. This assumes he couldn't just drop it straight out because there wasn't enough resv coverage.

Have your top concerns, complaints, etc. ready for when you get the survey call from area code 603.

I see there is two columns that confuse me:
Med & Dup
Haven't been able to find there definitions anywhere.

There is a blank column with a Q in it, which I thought meant Qualification Trip. OE trip placed in open time, but assigned to a pilot who will be getting his/her check out.

Q means qualified, which doesn't mean what you would naturally think it means in regard to qualification on the aircraft. It means the trip is qualified. And in open time that means it belongs to someone and that person owns it until someone else picks it up (i.e. it will not be given to someone on reserve). It shows up there with a Q because the pilot has attempted to drop it using Personal Drop, but the reserve manning isn't there to allow the drop. If the req manning were to some how appear (maybe someone moves a X day) then the personal drop would go through.

I don't know what dupe means, and I don't know what that med column means either.

MED means "Malaria Endemic Destination" or something to that effect anyway. They are supposed to assign those 48 hours in advance so guys can start taking their malarone.

Something similar to what they say now:

"Legacy carriers such as Delta Air Lines are bloated relics of the past with skyrocketing labor costs due to greedy unions, they have poor revenue management, horribly bloated budgets, completely inept at adapting to changing markets including the ever popular internet and worse of all offer unattractive prices to the budget sensitive once-a-year vacationing family who may at the spur of a moment buy a ticket to Orlando.

That is why we recommend that you sell that Delta stock right now and buy stock in an airline like Southwest.

Southwest has a perfect business model, is well managed by popular and fun CEO's, one fleet type significantly reduces their costs, they have great labor relations because they are union free and most of all they have really hilarious commercials with catchy one liners like 'our bags fly for free!'

You can read more of our investment opinions at nugatoryinvestmentadvice.com"

Dupe means duplicate paring. It is what they use when they modify one positions rotation and not the other.

No worries. He knows we're represented by ALPA. ;)

Carl

It was as if he had been pitched a hanging curve ball over the center of the plate...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qNqxDdDgu6...ill-murray.jpg

so he stopped the plane, set the parking break and began to type... :D