I'd like to put a DC9 in my back yard for the kids to play with. Wonder how expensive one would be?

FUGEDABOUTIT!! You need at least Southwest pay to afford one !!:eek:

Buzz, you're missing the point. Job security is pilots below you on the (growth of the company) and what you can hold is how many guys are senior to you (how many guys above you will retire before you). What you're missing is more airplanes, more seats (even 70 seaters) will give you additional opportunities to choose QOL (lower paying seat, whether CA or FO) or go for the money (less seniority at higher paying seat). If we got 70 seaters you would see some senior guys bid QOL over pay and vice versa. The key is to the flying on property - which we have not done in the past - basically because senior guys in 80s and 90s thought: "Who would want to fly the little jets?" Don't make that mistake again. And that is not to dismiss large A/C scope (JVs, etc).

Oh God, yes!

This pic makes me happy in all the right places....

Plus it makes excellent Bar repellent.

Nu

But for some reason it just keeps following me around ... .

I thought you didn't get displaced from the 737? You've escaped displacement every bid that I've seen despite your cries of woe and maddogs!

Compass. Admittedly my view on small-jet scope is informed by where I am now in the industry, and now that you clarified your view to basically state don't get so hung up on small-jet scope that you neglect big-jet scope (JVs, alliances, codeshares)...we're in complete agreement on that. But the reverse is true as well. All of it is incredibly important.

Let me try to quantify this a little bit. First, look at the size of the fleet when you add Delta and Delta Connection but exclude Alaska.


Now, without posting the data table I've got here, I can tell you that we average about 11 to nearly 14 pilots per narrowbody.

If you average that NB ratio to around 12 and we recaptured 100% of all DCI flying then Delta will go from just more than 12,000 pilots to nearly 19,400, a near 7,400 pilot jump.
In case you balk at that jump because it doesn't mean you have better bidding power on mainline equipment, just remember, we'd add over 3,800 Captain positions to anyone who wants them... in seniority order of course.

But what if we didn't take the 50 seaters? Well, if you just did 70+ seat airplanes we'd add 3,000 pilots and go from 12,000 pilots to over 15,000. We'd still add around 1,600 Captain positions and you're bidding power would still jump. The plug will now be 80%, the guy at 75% will be at 60%, at 50% will go to 40% and 25% will go to 20%.

As that DTW concourse and Bar's Saab to CRJ-900 pictures show, we've parked a lot of metal. Go back to 2000, DAL had 54 732s and another 26 733s. NWA had 172 DC-9s of which 80% were smaller than the DC95.

That's 252 jets that seated less than 125 passengers, all gone. Replaced by 255 jets that seat 65-76 passengers. If DC-9s are replaced by the 717 version of a DC-9, that's 88 airplanes of 252 we kept. That's something to celebrate given the alternative of 0 of 252.

Buzz,

I do not want to start a military vs civilian fight. You are a stud. Your book is great. BUT!!! As a civilian I would've preferred to be hired by Delta as an rj pilot instead of working at a regional forever. I and thousands of regional pilots were horrified at the erosion of our earnings potential when we got the rj's. We all hoped to rid ourselves of noisy, hot, smelly turboprops and enjoy the glorious dc9 or those shiny new canadairs at a mainline carrier. Unfortunately the rj's went to the grossly underpaid regionals. I enjoyed seniority and growth while watching my friends a few months senior to me get furloughed from every major carrier. My app with fresh wet ink was tossed aside for 7 more years. Delta eventually emerged from bankruptcy and now I'm here. ANY PLANE FLOWN BY DELTA MAINLINE PILOTS IS BENEFICIAL TO ALL ON OUR SENIORITY LIST!! I want growth on both ends of the spectrum. Carl needs the 747-800 and we need to get the dc9 replacement jets on our list.

Respectfully,

Hoserpilot



Holy crap!! Buzz, look at the numbers on the post above me!!! See our 88's vs the 900/e175...... This totally emphasizes my point. Btw, I'm a west coast guy living in an Atlanta house...ugh. Beer on me if we ever meet.