Airline Pilot Central Forums - Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by johnso29 (Post 1146143)

I'm burying my head in the sand? Compare scheduled retirements over the next twenty years. Those aren't speculation. Neither is stating that SWA pay and work rules will change. Those are facts. You're being much less of a realist then you think.

Those scheduled retirements are meaningless without them being replaced by new hires. Or worse, another merger that puts the vast majority above you.

Carl

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1146118)

No he didn't. He joined Delta and built up some solid 121 time while he waited for a proper paying airline that has management that wants to run an airline versus a ticket brokerage. He'll now be part of a union that values scope above all else, and have 100% of his union dues going toward his own pilots.

Smart move. Delta will increasingly be used as a training ground while awaiting SWA, FDX, UPS and the high paying foreign airlines. Get used to it. Management couldn't care less.

Carl

You nailed it, Carl

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler (Post 1146159)

Those scheduled retirements are meaningless without them being replaced by new hires. Or worse, another merger that puts the vast majority above you.

Carl

That merger is less guaranteed then those retirements, as is SWA's contract going only up for the remainder of their existence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExAF (Post 1146124)

It's "The HATCH just blew!" :p;):D

Hey Ex & Ferd,

In the interest of fairness, I flew with GG's oldest son for many years over at purple...as you can imagine, his take on the "bolts" is quite a bit different than the NASA line...just sayin'

Regards,
BG

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRJAV8OR (Post 1146112)

The career earnings for a 20 year SWA F.O. using minimum guarantee and current F.O. pay rates on this forum-$2,554,344. Career earnings for a 20 year Delta pilot upgrading to Captain at year 10-$2,191,800. I started the Delta F.O. in the lowest paying equipment and moved to the next higher paying equipment every 2 years, and continued this progression at the 10 year switch to Captain pay rates. That is a $365,544 over the 20 year period. I would take that bet all day. Of course many will say the Delta rates will go up and the SWA rates will go down, but that is a gamble most betting folks would be willing to take. The SWA number is for minimum guarantee only. I will not speculate as to what each individual pilot will gross, but most pilots at SWA (including me) go well beyond guarantee on every paycheck. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Best of luck.... You never know until you finish!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FedElta (Post 1146167)

I'm sure.........and I was making fun of the movie line, the real guy had to be something special to get to that level to begin with.

I'm a huge movie fan. No movie is true to the real story, the best they can be is "based on" a real life incident. "Red Tails," currently in theaters, is a fine example of a major disappointment.:( CGI never overcomes poor writing.

Ferd

I find it interesting that the AE didn't go as briefed in the roadshows, ie there were no pull down in Whale and 777 specifically or super premium widebodies in general. I wonder what level (Richard or lower?) looked at it and figured the training events were too expensive.

I'm thinking there is much more to the story.......but I'll doubt we'll ever really know.

Ferd

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRJAV8OR (Post 1146112)

Just asking, did you include retirement contributions in these numbers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomcat (Post 1146054)

Hey Wastch,
Thinking about bidding the ATLDC9A. Just need to ask one of those guys how they find the airport? Hope you're doing great!
TC

We just follow you RNAV equipped guys..don't tell anyone but I've actually done that in holding patterns:p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scoop (Post 1146156)

Quote:
Originally Posted by JungleBus http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/im...s/viewpost.gif
Dunno if anyone noticed this, but you recently (this week) lost another newhire FO to Southwest.

Oh well... He made a mistake.

Guys you are missing the point! Every Pilot that leaves DAL is great news for all who remain. :) There is a cost associated with Pilots leaving - a cost that has been minimal for decades and is now starting to rise.

As has been said before - DAL is no longer most guys first choice as an airline. I hope it will be again in 5-10 years and guys leaving for greener pastures, whether actually greener or not, will only help us achieve this.

What do you think managements response will be to the rising cost of Pilots leaving?? I think they will be forced to look long at hard at our compensation and perhaps be more amenable to increasing it.

As to whether he made a mistake or the smartest move of his career - I don't think anyone can positively answer that question so we can revisit that again in 20 years. :p

Scoop

Scoop, you're exactly right. We all try to look on the horizon to make our best estimation of how things will turn out, but you never know until you get there.

On 9/11 as I manuvered out of the flightpath of United 175, I had an idea that things would change, but I had no idea that I would go through a nearly three year furlough, my company would go through and bankruptcy, my pension terminated, and then a merger. In fact I'm almost embarassed to think of how happy I was on my newhire day. I thought all I had to do was stay healthy, fly a good airplane and take care of my pax.

So looking back, I could have never predicted what has happened in my career so far, but for the time being I'm holding on until we get through this contract and reevalutate. Many of us are taking a hard look at it right now. We have the potential to salvage a career out of this company, but many things have to come together for us. We have a good management team running the company. It all comes down to what value (I mean this literally in a cost and benefit anaysis) they place on us as Delta Pilots wearing Delta Unforms.

TC