I know that we have looked at the costs in BOS, there as been some high level talk of a BOS base. I do not see any movement on that until the economy improves since the reason for it was a renewed international presence there.

The only reason they are keeping the JFK 777 base open with no live flying out of the base is planned future routes. Like NRT which is finally coming. There should be more in the future too. This makes the 777 base viable once again.

I do think that eventually you will see a 777 crew base out of LAX. It just makes sense. DAL does not like flying these jets on domestic legs. The ATL leg is justified for mtc positioning.

ACL,

Sounds like you are saying that when the economy rebounds DAL will have to do some serious hiring. Or, will that need go away when they get the pilots and planes to the bases they want and the need for DH'ing is reduced?

I still think that when the planes are parked and the DHing is done, once the economy rebounds we are going to need bodies and lots of them.

There is even a chance we may see new hires this time next year. Of course that is a long way off, but present projections are showing a need.

Could you imagine what would happen to JFK? It'd empty out and be even more junior, there are so many BOS commuters. Not to mention, BOS is an easier commute so you might have guys come in from ATL if they lost their widebody gig because commuting to BOS isn't bad at all.

Heyas,

Everything that I have heard in the last couple of days is that "everything is back up in the air".

They had a plan A and B. They were on Plan A, and the economy went south, and so they switched to Plan B. There are signs that their assumptions for Plan B are significantly different than reality (better than assumed), so they are scrambling to come up with a Plan C.

Problem is they don't know if this little improvement is a "dead cat bounce" or a real recovery. If they plan for one, they get hosed if it's the other.

But they are running into serious operational considerations because of the merger that will magnify any wrong turns. That's why you are seeing the uber push for the SOC. They HAVE to have it to mitigate some of the risk.

Honestly, it's the first time I've seen this management team (either at NWA or now at DAL), stumped by the economic conditions.

Nu

Where does that leave ATL? Especially on the MD-88/90?

MARTY!!

I think everybody is stumped!!

That is something that we were discussing last week. They are not sure if this is a bounce (bumping along the bottom) or a sign of recovery. DAL has long stated that they want to be a first mover.
Our summer bookings are better than expected, way better. They spring break loads were better, way better than expected. People are not booking six to nine months out, that is where we are confused. Now they are booking say four to six weeks.
Nice thing is we got the metal to move if and when it is needed.