Not to mention that Delta's overall financial position is still horrible. We have massive amounts of debt and a giant bill for fleet replacement of our antique fleet thats going to come due in the next 10 years. SW has none of those issues.

 

It was a bumpy ride, I had to keep calling the FA for drinks, my steak was overcooked, the landing was rough, I did not get to see my house on take off. As usual tips may be set based on stuff out of your control - or you're right, we're just cheap SOBs

 

Yes they do, they just became the launch customer for the Max, plus all the 800's they are getting.

 

Unlike Jack Bauer, I disagree. Let me caveat this by stating that I personally couldn't care less about seeing the opener from other than a curiosity standpoint. I think it will serve no purpose. That being said, once it is out there, the upside potential from there is zero. There is no way to go up from there. If it asks for a 30% pay raise, the company is not going to come back with their response and say... well... we'll give you 35%.. The downside limit is also limited, depending on the subject. Pay could go from a 30% pay raise to a paycut, but even then they could only cut our pay to $0, which would mean that everybody would be doing something else... The downside is not infinite.

I guess what I was trying to say is that no matter what the opener is.. weak, strong.. something in between... there is only down... (from our perspective)

And some are worried about managed expectations... seeing the opener will be the ultimate in that, but like I said before, I am a little curious about it.

 

I'm not sure I get your point, Bar. The object of the entire exercise is a contract, right? If that can be accomplished, and pronto, you don't have to take either of the two poor choices you mention.

I think the philosophy of constructive engagement that served us well in the merger will be really tested with the contract, and proven as a farce, or a successful tool. The back-stop should be the vote: we will get to see the results of this philosophy before we buy (or refuse) those results. Meanwhile, assuming there is even a chance management is willing to deal, and ssuming they're not dropping the bomb on us, why not try a collaborative model for some period of time? Once we go to the traditional model, we can pretty much park ourselves for a while, and wait for the endless mediation sessions before we can even think of getting released, only to get to a PEB. This could take years. At which point your prophecy of quitting might be open, but illegal self-help certainly won't: we'll just get UsAired.

 

I was still editing that post.

The pain will be felt at the middle - upper seniority levels as Captains get displaced. They surely aren't going anywhere. I agree with your assertion ... and for the junior guys ... who cares? They will be replaced by other junior pilots in the bat of an eye.

There is another form of attrition, medical. 80% or more of health is in a person's mind.

 

Horrible? Where's the BS flag?

 

Response:

The same network management that runs Comair, runs Delta.

 

As Whidbey pointed out, 2 guys in my new hire class have already left for SWA. If we have a poor contract, more will leave for FedEx, UPS & SWA, along with some foreign carriers. Back in 2010 Delta was one of the few companies hiring, but in the next few years every company will be hiring as retirements kick in.

Most of us, myself included, anticipated a significant contract improvement in 2012 following the highly successful DAL-NWA merger and good profits in a down economy. I was also impressed with the fact that DAL did not furlough back in 2008 when oil was $147/barrel.

If the company does not compensate its pilots appropriately, then DAL will experience a pilot supply issue in the future.

 

So are you saying we need to help subsidize our fleet replacement?