Yep. Unfortunately. Just ask the DFW guys how that went down. They're still commuting all over the planet.

Yeah it'll either be NYC or CVG. I'm honestly thinking NYC, just because they have so much DTW flying now. Regardless, I'm sure they're running both scenarios. I think after the DC9's are fully parked MEM will close as a pilot base and those 320's will move to ATL or NYC or be split between the two. Just my thoughts, which aren't worth squat. :D

Delta and USAir sell the slots and keep the money. DAL from LGA and USAir from DCA. The DOT specified a blind sale. In other words - DAL and USAir do NOT get to choose who buys them. They can not sell them to each other.
Here's a quote from the DOT statement:
the carriers would be required to sell eight slot pairs at Reagan National and 16 slot pairs at LaGuardia through a blind sale to airlines that currently have little or no service at these airports. Slot pairs would be sold in bundles large enough to ensure that a purchaser would have a sufficient number of slots to provide meaningful new competition. In addition, Delta and US Airways would be required to wait 90 days before beginning their new operations on a phased-in basis, in order to allow the new services to establish a foothold at the airports.

If anyone is interested here is a link to the entire DOT notice of petition and request for comments. If you click on the little red PDF button you can view a wealth of information about slots and operations at LGA and DCA. The file contains the names of all the airlines holding slots and the times for those slots, the history of who has held the slots, each airline's market share, the entry of AirTran, jetBlue, Southwest, Spirit etc. etc. etc.
This file also contains all the details about who can bid for the slots being divested, What time of day those slots will be (Delta has to give up some good ones; 8AM departures are a whole lot more valuable than noon) and all that stuff.

You can also use this link to submit a comment if you want. You can also read the other airlines' comments. Kinda interesting.
Don't say anything stupid. Mr. LaHood could still change his mind.:)

Regulations.gov
.
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You can pull up ALPA's LM-2 and find where every red cent has been spent. You don't need to be an ALPA pilot to do it. Where can I find a similar report and transparency from DPA?

Here's another nice little Easter egg from the DOT that nobody seems to be talking about.
We might have to give up gates ---

We also tentatively find that eligible carriers may be unable to use the slots if they cannot
obtain access to gates, ticket counters, baggage handling services, loading bridges, and other
ground facilities at either DCA or LGA. Accordingly, we propose to require the selling carrier to
make these available to the purchaser under reasonable terms and rates if the purchasing carrier
lacks access to gates and ground facilities and is unable to obtain such access from either the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, the operator of LGA, or from the Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority, the operator of DCA.

Spirit wants the DOT to confiscate the slots and hand them out for free:

:eek:

Spirit does not oppose the approval of this transfer subject to the stated divestment of slots. However, Spirit urges the DOT to adopt a divestment process whereby the FAA would withdraw the slots from the Joint Applicants and reallocate them to the low-fare incumbents

currently operating with fewer than five (5) percent of the slots at these airports (“limited incumbents”), rather than through an auction process whereby eligible carriers were required to purchase the slots from the Joint Applicants as included in the FAA’s May 2010 Order.3

Southwest is opposed to the whole swap but if it is approved, they wants 80 slots at LGA and 40 at DCA:

II. If FAA Does Not Disapprove the Slot Swap Entirely. It Should
Expand Its Carve-Outs to Ensure Sufficient New Competition
at Both DCA and LGA.
Southwest does not believe that the Delta/US Ainvays slot swap, in any form, is
in the public interest. Allowing two of the country's largest airlines to collude on trading
assets in a way to reduce competition while dramatically increasing their market
dominance at two of the United States' most important airports is, on its face, an
alarming prospect that should not be permitted.

...

IV. If It Were Able to Acquire Carved-Out Slots. Southwest Would
Generate Enormous Public Benefits by Reducing Fares and
Increasing Traffic at Both DCA and LGA.

You know, at this point I have to admit that I am completely lost in the debate that is going on between you guys and Carl #1 -- and I'm not one to easily get lost in an argument.

It seems to me that Carl #1 is saying that it is impossible to change a seniority list, and you guys are arguing that it is possible, just very difficult. You guys also seem to want to hold the DPA lawyer to task for publicly stating that it would be easy to change a seniority list when he was/is representing the US Airways pilot group.

All of that is fine and dandy, but in my opinion, there is no real argument between you guys.

#1: There is very little difference, and very little debate should stem from one party stating that a list is impossible to change and another party saying that is is possible, but would be very difficult. It's sort of like someone saying that it's impossible to repeal the 13th Amendment and someone else saying it is possible, you would just have to convene a Constitutional Convention or get 2/3's of Congress to agree to it. Sure, there is a way to do it, but it's not gonna happen. Same thing = Same thing.

#2: When a lawyer makes a statement on behalf of his client, he is expected to be a zealous advocate and make his case appear as strong as possible. That's what they get paid to do. If the USAPA hired a law firm or lawyer to change their seniority list, he is not supposed to publicly state that it would be and hard task. How this equates to the DPA anyway, I'm not sure.

Either way, I think it's apparent that once our seniority list was published and subsequently implemented in the January 2010 AE, it became a done deal. Even if the DPA did get on property, it would be impossible for them to change it, through negotiations, the court, or whatever.

Who would they negotiate with anyway, the company? Delta would want no part of it. At this point, just 1 1/2 year into the merger, thousands of pilots have trained, moved, switched schools for their kids, altered plans and made countless other changes based on the arbitrated list and the subsequent AE's. IMO, no entity would dare try to change it, because they would know that they would just be a defendant to against a huge multi-party, multi-million dollar lawsuit if they did.

Anyone who is being lead to believe otherwise should really rethink the reasonableness of such a proposition. The reality is that the list is the list.

Personally, I think you guys should let this one go. If you want to argue the merits and demerits of ALPA and the DPA, go for it. But, I don't think you should argue that the DPA sucks based on something that reasonable DPA supporters know the DPA is incapable of doing. I don't care who their lawyer is, or what he said when he was representing the USAPA.

The thing that needs to be addressed is that the vast majority of DPA supporters support them for reasons other than a desire to change the seniority list. If those issues could be acknowledged and addressed, the DPA would fade into history fairly quickly.


New K

Gentlemen,

I just flew with an outstanding new hire. Unfortunately, the probation report only lets me use three lines to comment. Is there another form or report I could fill out to send up to the powers that be that let's me finish my thoughts?

You can write a letter/e-mail to anybody anytime.
The only other "form" is probably the FCR. The FCR link is on the Flt Ops webpage.
It has a provision for "positive feedback".

Anybody think ALPA will hit us up for $$$ if a judge awards the former TWA pilots a settlement?