I was screwing up the Swap Board with Open Time. There is a P/U icon on the swap board. I was being dumb and then the light bulb turned on and put in a white slip. DOH!!! .....insert pic of Homer hitting his head.....

 

Well they have taken deliver of every order they had.

 

Not only that, but we need to watch our six when and if the company starts squealing about how we need to loosen scope so SKYW can fly the "hundred seater" with us supposedly at the controls because it will fool the idiots on wall street into thinking we have magical debt free planes.

What is more likely happening in that case IMO is we are trying to get out of the multi-billion dollar 50 seat RJ mass order long term contract mistakes that no talent hack idiot managers got us into (massive bonuses notwithstanding?) and are selling our souls by giving them narrowbody mainline equipment as a swap.

Better to eat the RJ's for just a tiny bit longer, as CPA/ASA's start to expire fast and furiously and shouldn't be renewed at all. Time to let megalomaniacs like Atkin and Bedford urinate through their war chests in less time than it takes to say "Independance Air" rather than give them ownership of even larger guaranteed profit mainline flying.

 

When I was a flight instructor, I worked two other jobs to supplement my income. When I did 135 freight, I freelanced on the side. When I flew at a regional, I ran a side business. I sacrificed a lot on the way to get this elusive 'major airline job', so I don't have to do $hit on the side anymore. However, now that I'm at DAL, I make $5000 a month after deductions/taxes...flying a widebody. Fkn pathetic. (70 rsv guarantee x $115 -25% taxes -other deduction (medical, dues etc).

I used to be proud to wear the DAL uniform and fly across the oceans in a widebody. But not anymore....I'm tired....my free time is spent running my business like many of you guys. $5000 a month does not make me proud nor pay my bills. I make more than DAL pay for way less responsibility and consequences. Don't get me wrong....I do the best job I can at Delta. But I have bills to pay and Delta is not my only calling anymore.

I have friends all over the world who are airlines pilots. Even pilots flying for some $hitty LCCs in Asia have a much higher living standard than us....especially looking at he cost of living and how much they make. (In most countries, pilots are paid at par with surgeons or even much much higher....PM me if you want proof). My airline pilot friends abroad are shocked to find out how much net salary I make, how much it costs to live and how much we are paid compared to other professional jobs. Hell, we make way less than SWA, Fedex, UPS etc in our own country. Many of them laugh at how much I take home.

This $hit got to stop. We should have more self respect in the upcoming contract. We should not have to work second jobs and businesses to provide for the family while working for the world's largest airline by passenger volume. We should not have to come in tired after working all day to flying airplanes across the continent/s for a net salary of $5000 / month for an FO or even twice for a CA seat. Not even close for 'One Great Airline'. We keep selling ourself short and senior management keeps it and shares among them nice million dollar bonunses. They will tell you and me all the reason why we they can't afford to pay us anymore while they all enjoy their multi-million salaries. Nobody should expect us to work second jobs/ side businesses to feed our families.

Doing a side business/ second job to satisfy ones luxurious habits or as a hobby is one thing. We should never be in a position where we have to do it to survive.

I really wanna see the opener ALPA comes up with. I will settle for nothing short of restoration of the loan I gave the company in 2000....neither should you. I (and you) saved the damn company and subsidized their poor management decisions for more than a decade. Enough! I hope we are ramping up our strike committee....
I am sure the management will threaten with furloughs etc when the negotiation time comes. Lets not fall for it. Let them furlough me. I wanna come back to a well paid decent job after a furlough than keep whoring away for $hit wages.

OK...I feel better now

 

Can't follow your logic here. I guess since I have guys 3 years junior to me DOH senior to me now, then I have been set back 5 years.

 

Do you like wearing white gloves when flying?

Right Ahead Left...Clear!

Cheers
George

 

I agree with you 100 percent. I'm living pay check to pay check. I actually have to take money out of savings when bills like car insurance come due. I'm either going to have to get a second job or send my wife back to work. It's pathetic how little money we make.

 

On the NWA side it is DOH logic. On the DAL side it is what could be held on bids before and post merger. Either way, it seems to average about five years, roughly speaking. Your mileage may vary. DYODD. Caveat Emptor.

What makes the difference painful is the lack of advancement. Some of us got spoiled very quickly being senior reserves or bottom lineholders on the 767 and ER, which felt about right after stagnating for a decade. It almost felt like we were getting caught up with where we "should be" for our age and experience. That was short lived and now I'm where I had hoped I would be a decade ago and the career is half way over.

Mergers mostly work because "synergy" is a fancy word for "get rid of half the airline, but try to keep the revenue." By every standard, the Delta / NWA went much better than most.

If we merged with say, Alaska (not that I'm predicting that) they would come to the SLI arbitration well armed, with solid growth and aircraft that slot around 50% or higher on our list. My post was just pointing out that if the the 1996 and up crowd got slotted behind (pick your airline) it would be disaster for the mid to junior FO's.

More importantly, Delta needs to find a way to compete in the open market without constantly employing the buy and shrink method. We need an airline which goes after markets and takes them away from competitors (as we are trying to do in New York).

Some want to demand a big raise and I'm with them, but mostly my goal is to get off reserve. Being on reserve since 1999 (with maybe two years of holding lines in between) is enough. I know I've had it better than many. My side jobs have paid the bills (financially they were the main job) allowing me to bank the airline (hobby?) income. But the state of the economy is making it tough to find opportunities on the side like there used to be. A lot of people are out there looking for work and $100K part time jobs were never that plentiful to begin with.

 

Not to change the subject, but has anyone stayed at the hotel in AUA lately. I think it's the ******** but I could be wrong. I have a trip there next month with 24 hrs to kill. Does anyone know if they offer a daily all inclusive package for the crews to purchase?

Thanks
BFS

 

You mean stuff like Nashville to Boston (biz pax) or Tulsa to Orlando (vacationers, ala Alliegent)? Alliegent wins in those markets because they sell a lot of extra services with the flight, like car rentals and hotels. I think we've tried with CRJs, I know I saw a Nashville to Orlando flight in the past, but I think high oil killed it.

CRJs - a quick answer is how many companies do you see selling their own tickets and flying just RJs? Ehh... zip.

Indy Air tried it. Failed. ExpressJet tried it. Failed.

I am pretty sure (but no data to back it up since no one will release the figures) that RJs are subsidized by mainline - can't see how they would still be around otherwise.