I don't think I was on that trip, but we did fly together. I served my time from '00 to '05. Sounds like a fun trip, though. You will have to tell me about it the next time we share a crew bus.

R1

Thankfully I haven't had any recent issues with the schedulers, however I did have an issue with a tracker a couple weeks ago. I should have gone to the CP after this, but I have very little motivation to do stuff with the company on my days off. Long story short, we had a 1pm or so eastern time report and we incurred an ever lengthening mx delay before PHX-DTW. They had an original plan that would get us into DTW at 0200, which was ok, but then the FA's timed out. They came up with a new plan that would get us into DTW at best case scenario (always) 0430. That was within a few minutes of max legal, but they didn't care.

Since it had turned into a redeye without redeye rest, we refused it for obvious reasons. I got a call from a crew tracker doing what was apparently trying to divide me from the captain and pressure me into operating the flight. I guess they forget that the regionals teach you how to emphatically say no.

Here's the best part, the tracker said to me "So are you telling me that you reported for today unable to fulfill your obligations in the contract?"

Cue blood boiling.

I paused for a moment so I didn't say anything too ridiculous, and queried him "Tell me something, if something is legal, does that make it safe?"

The answer was the wrong answer... Be very careful with these types.

I had a very similar situation a few weeks ago, except we were going the other way (JFK-PDX) and the delay kept creeping to where we were going to have been awake around 26 hours (best case :D ) like you guys we hadn't been planning our rest for a reverse red-eye. We finally told them we weren't going to be able to to do it.

Our problem was they called us at the hotel and we never actually "reported" so our duty day never legally started. The tracker tried to play this same game saying we would be legal for XX amount of time, but my Captain had seen it once before apparently and called up the duty pilot. He straightened everything out and I haven't heard another word about it.

The 1 or 2 times I've started down that road with them, I just tell them that I will be happy to discuss my reasons with a chief pilot if they'd like to have one call me. It keeps the arguing (and my blood pressure) to a minimum.

187 total. Seats will come out later.

True, but the reality is that there would be a CAPEX either way, and so far it has been on the AS side and not the DAL side of the Code Share. (Added routes not those that were existing) DAL has decided to pull jets and use them elsewhere versus having CAPEX. AS on the other hand is taking on the CAPEX and the routes.

Without Cap Ex, our fleet is an asset which is depleted. At one time our stock price would have allowed us to trade equity for an airline which had invested in their fleet, but not so much any more. We are going to have to buy an airline, or buy airplanes. The third option is what they call in business "run off" where you monetize and deplete your assets until those assets are all gone and you close the door.

The institutional investors who "saved" Delta from the waiting arms of US Air are deeply underwater and there is pressure on Delta management to "do something." Since this is not an operationally driven decision, the results are unpredictable.

IMHO capacity restraint is not only boring to a growth oriented market, it just does not encourage investors to buy into an ever shrinking Company. Richard Anderson's conservative course may be best, but it is not sexy. Ceding market share is universally unattractive & makes all the analysts charts point the wrong direction.

Bottom line, it would behoove us to find a way to perform our own flying. We need a competitive "win." Our best move would be to make Alaska exercise capacity restraint.

They're saying 165 is the final tally for early outs.

That's not what the R&I guy was saying. He had the total at 165, which means 27 pulled their papers.

Yes. Be very careful. I had a very disappointing encounter with crew scheduling a few weeks ago. They were trying to play "gotcha" when I was clearly trying to help them out and do the right thing. Sadly, it appears to be a different mentality in crew scheduling these days. Be careful out there.

What? You know the "R&I guy?" ;)

But yep... 165 is what he posted on the forum. I believe he also said there will be a breakdown forthcoming of seniority, retirement dates, etc.