Maybe a commerative issue of TWA's last days? Like Midwest. :rolleyes:

They can take my donation out of LM's housing allowance.

Agreed it's far from over. I was thinking about the insurance thing too. Also wondering if a judge may get them to just settle out of court.

There's a scary thought! :D

So I was checking on DAL's profile page on APC and noticed that it is saying there are 243 guys that have bypassed a recall. I'm sure it's been discussed here but I figured I'd ask anyway (sorry!). Is this true? If so, when are they required to come back? Also..... I was wondering if being a local ATL guy would help when hiring picks back up? I have sereral DAL pilots that I've flown with in the past before I jumped to 91 from 121 so I'm hoping that will help.

Thanks in advance!

DC is still living in the fantasy that SWA is some kind of good deal for the traveling public.
They're more like WalMart IMO.

Yes, that's a correct number. I believe the next time we hire will be their last time to come back. They are running out of time. While I'm sure some are hanging out at other jobs such as JetBlue or the military I think many have moved on to other careers. My guess is only half at most will return.

It's good you've previously flown with current Delta Pilots. Internal letters of recommendation weigh heavily WRT hiring. I'd say those would be more important then living in ATL.

Need a laugh? the poor drivers and teams were trying so hard not to laugh...

Awesome. Thanks!

I have seen them do that as well. I just wait for the call.

Scheduler: ACL, how long until you can get to the airport?

ACL: At least two hours

Scheduler: Hold On

ACL: OK, but it is two hours from the acknowledgement since you have not officially assigned me a trip yet....

Scheduler: OK, Hold on......

ACL: Alright.

Scheduler: Are you sure it will take two hours?

ACL: Yes, and it will take even longer if you do not let me get off the phone, get dressed and in to my car. Of course this is without any traffic. I cannot predict traffic.

Scheduler: Alright, get here as soon as possible.

ACL: Of course

We have contractual limits, so that we do not have to sit SC in the Employee Parking lot. I can make it there in an hour, but I have long since learned that it is not wise to promise something that you cannot guarantee. I normally make it in an hr, but there have been a few times where traffic has made two hours impossible. It is what it is. Part of the problem is they are going through WS, and then so they can protect their SC's they go to Out of Base WS. The short, short call is a product of not using a SC pilot sooner. Watch the coverage list, and you will see that they generally punch out of the WS deal about 1 1/2 to two hour before departure.

Many of those on bypass have turned their paperwork in, indicated they are ready for recall. Of course it is a preemptive move due to the clock running out. If their paperwork is not in when we start hiring and their ten years are up, they do not get to come back. Now if it is in and we are not hiring they have until 2014.

It will be interesting to see how many take recall. I think many of the military guys will return, and then once they go though indoc, will start their five year leave clock, so that by the time they are to time out, they will be close to upgrade, and or have their military pensions taken care of.

Actual conversation this morning with scheduling:

Me: Hi, this is DAL 88 Driver, employee #XXXXXX. (no, I used my real name... he probably would have REALLY been confused if I used DAL 88 Driver and I was a DC-9 pilot :D) I'm your short call this morning. I'm staying at a hotel 5 minutes from the airport and wanted to let you know I'm going out for a run. I'll be gone about 40 minutes... so if you need me for something, just leave a message and I'll check my phone as soon as I get back in the room. I can be over to the airport very quickly after that.

Scheduler: [rambles a bit leading me to believe he doesn't quite have the gist of what I'm trying to tell him]

Me: Well, I just didn't want you to panic if you tried to call and I didn't answer my phone. If you need me to fly, I can be there very quickly... even if it takes me a few minutes to call you back.

Scheduler: Oh, I never panic. If you don't call me back within 30 minutes, I just take the trip off your line and turn the matter over to your Chief Pilot.

Me: Well, that's kinda the whole point of why I'm calling you. If you call 5 minutes after I walk out of the room to go run, it might take me slightly longer than 30 minutes to call you back, but I can make it to the airport to do any flying you need very quickly as this hotel is only 5 minutes away from the airport.

Scheduler: Okay. I can remember that you're close.

Be careful out there, folks. The mentality in scheduling these days does not seem to be what us "south" guys have been used to.

BTW, in case anyone is wondering. I don't usually sit short call at a hotel by the airport. I finished a trip yesterday afternoon and they gave me short call at 4am today. By the time I would have gotten home (2 hours away where I usually sit short call), I would have had to go right to bed and I just decided it wasn't worth it to go home and have to get up at 3:30am to be ready to run out the door if they called me at 4:00.