I like and agree with your post, but the College Professor does not understand the market. Because of the dismal employment numbers more people are going to college longer to compete in and in many cases to avoid the labor market. These people generally are not paying the costs of college, their parents are and the banks are. That bill has not yet come due, but will probably be the next large debt default coming our way after Europe.

Delta's pilots swallowed the pay cuts because in many ways the pain was deflected and put off:

• Early retirements allowed the majority to gain seniority such that their pay cuts were partially covered by advancement into higher paying positions.
• Much of the financial pain will not be felt until retirement
• Some invested well and made themselves insulated
• "Mainline" flying was redefined and the DC9, 727, 737 flying which had paid the least has been negotiated off property in exchange for reductions in the severity of cuts elsewhere

The pain has in many ways been passed down to the next generation of pilots, who will be older and who's career will progress more slowly, as a result of outsourcing.

If there is a pilot shortage, then things will change rapidly. If Airline management is exposed to a true market and is unable to hide behind the railway labor act, things will change rapidly.

In a tight labor market I'd say at least 30% of Delta's pilots would find employment elsewhere withing six months. If the labor market improves for pilots, Delta will have to do something, just as the airlines in China have discovered.

Pilots, as a rule, will NOT knowingly break the law. If wildcat strikes were legal, we would not see bids like the one just posted with comments about shifting the cost of doing business in New York to junior pilots and Flight Attendant only perks.

I fear this bid will have Peachtree City residents commuting north and north east.

The college bubble is massive and will pop hard, taking a lot of the middle class down with it. College debt already exceeds consumer spending/credit card debt and is increasing far faster than earnings or employment opportunities. Its caused educational inflation that invalidates itself despite its soaring costs. With all the artificial subsidies that industry gets, both direct and indirect (529 scams, etc) and the entitlement mindset, people have been lining up in droves to throw money at worthless degrees regardless of cost. That will change and change hard. The new loan forgivness is yet another multiplier of this bubble that will burst harder than the housing bubble.

And yet even today people still scrimp and save, by hook or by crook, to get their kids up to 6 figure bachleor's degrees just so they can party hardy and escape reality for a few years and pretend to be mini adults while avoiding the real world. When the college bubble pops, the squealing for taxpayer/currency devaluation bailouts will shriek louder than anything that ever came from Wall Street.

Eating can sometimes be a challenge considering turn times average 30 minutes or less. Many folks pack food with them, but more commonly the CA or FO will take orders from the crew, then make a food run between turns.

Drops and swaps are instantaneous and done on the computer or smart phone. There is a pilot to pilot function where you can place a trip to be given away in entirety or any portion of that trip. Any pilot from any domicile can pick up that trip if he is FAR legal to do so. This is why 1 and 2 day trips are easy to get rid of, someone can easily fit them into their schedule and remain legal. You can also place it for trade only with another pilot, stating what you are looking to trade for and placing it with a PIN number.

All open time is placed in ELITT, and can be traded at will with the company. There is a tabulation that counts days of flying traded in the system. If someone trades in a 3 day for a 4 day then the system goes to plus 1 and that means that someone else can now trade a 3 day down to a 2 day etc. Normally the system is always at zero on the FO side, but often the CA side may be in positive numbers allowing you to trade down and reduce your days of flying allowing you to hunt for Premium pay.

Premium open time is a complicated system. Most uncovered flying is given to reserves. Our reserves are unlike most legacy carriers. Reserves actually fly 80-90% of the time. If reserve coverage is low all uncovered fling goes into Open Time system. That system is broken into many categoreis: DOT (Daily Open Time) HOT (Hourly Open Time) FCFS (First Come First Served) Etc. Pilots bid on open time with a computer or smart phone. POT is awarded in seniority order except for FCFS which is free for all with no regard to seniority. You can sign up to receive text messages as to what is currently available, and bid on trips via text. You can also bid for trips as straight time, or only if it drops into the premium pay category. Standing bids can be made and trips that meet your parameters can automatically be placed on your line without you having to do anything.

The system works for us, but definitely will not work for everyone. You have to remember that every pilot is qualified to fly any trip in the system. We do not have many of the factors to contend with that a multi-fleet, international/domestic carrier deals with. The system is definitely set up to reward pilots for picking up open time, which allows management to staff more lean. However, that also means that they don't ever hesitate putting a trip out at premium pay in order to make sure it is covered. Many folks live the premium pay life almost exclusively and can either work very little to reach respectable pay or work a lot for huge pay checks.

Wow. You make me want to start drinking before 5. Thanks for the incentive, Debbie Downer. And I have been accused of being negative, you make me look like Mary Sunshine.

Wow, the bid results are already out!



























/troll

I guess I am gullible but still not cool!!:mad:

They are, and you cannot see them. Right now they are running and re-running them so that they can reduce the training waterfall in a year where they need to move sims. Once that is done, they will be posted. There is great incentive to have them out before they turn off the head on Wed. If they are not done, these poor people have to miss Black Friday shopping to come in to work to seal the fate of hundreds. Much better to give the angry trolls five days to cool off. :D

I'd commute to SEA for grins. :D

Last Chinese MD-90 is in the US:
China Southern B-2267 will be N963DN

It's at Marana now but I really like this leg...
FlightAware > China Southern Airlines Flight #3026


Cheers
George