Originally Posted by Nosmo King (Post 1005796)

Don't forget another alternative. Having flown with some very senior captains in SEA prior to MSP opening, the ones that lived in MSP were conflicted about a base in MSP. Their reasoning is similar to my reason for not wanting a base in ATL.

If you commute to SEA and live in MSP and are senior enough to bid all the trips that start and end with a DH to/from MSP, you get all the benefits of virtual basing without the ugly staffing reduction problems. That reasoning can also be applied to living in MSP and being based in ATL on the 330.

In pilot terms you get paid to layover at home and get more days off every month by deviating on the front end and back end. Example trip: DH ATL-MSP, fly MSP-ATL, fly ATL-MSP, DH MSP-ATL. Looks pretty good if you live in MSP.

Someone has to cover the A330 flying in and out of MSP after it is closed. Whether it is flown backwards out of Europe or covered with a DH to/from MSP will be a factor in determining whether pilots opt out or follow the airplane.

For me personally, it will mean the end of a 2 year glory period of easy commuting with deviate on both ends and really nice trips. But it still won't make me change seats or bid A330 ATL unless I am bidding #1 in base or I know I can avoid all MED flying.

I can start complaining about the merger again after the ATL A330 base opens. :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by Delta1067 (Post 1005818)

AE is out!!

Originally Posted by acs020 (Post 1005835)

For those uneducated "wanna-be" Delta pilots....does this AE news translate into hiring in the near future?

Originally Posted by Denny Crane (Post 1005805)

Nosmo,

I understand your reasoning but they don't have the time to figure out if there will be alot of DH'ing or not and also take part in the incentive plan. They only have until June 30th to decide and July 15 to withdraw. It's waaaaay to late for the Company to open an ATL 330 category by July 1.

Denny

Originally Posted by Nosmo King (Post 1005838)

Denny,

I was referring to the over 60 crowd, the 30 Jun/15 July deadline is not a major player if you are already eligible to retire and collect a full pension. Many of those guys might stick around and see what the flying looks like and then have the option of bailing out if they don't like the rotation construction. The MSP base is especially interesting because some of the captains have a full DB from NW as well as an annuity, add-on and a rollup from pre-merger Republic. I call them the "I'll fly until I get bored" crowd.

Originally Posted by Bucking Bar (Post 1005760)

Net positive bid. Some positive movement on the 330 for sure as Delta utilizes that airplane on longer routes.

Originally Posted by acs020 (Post 1005835)

For those uneducated "wanna-be" Delta pilots....does this AE news translate into hiring in the near future?

Originally Posted by Delta1067 (Post 1005837)

There were about 30 "net" positions after all of the movement but the company said they don't plan to hire as they will not backfill all openings. Nonetheless, still good news as there was a lot of people who though we would end up with a surplus.

Originally Posted by PropNWA (Post 1005781)

I'm not so sure most of those senior people on the 330 in MSP are commuters. I'm sure a few are but there are a lot of old Republic and NW guys who are native Minnesotans and with the 330 being the only true widebody category in MSP, a lot of those guys are on it.