<<<< +3 >>>>

I could actually live with a production balance that covered everything, from JV's, to Dash-8's, but the devil would be in the details. The more details, the more devil, for that matter. If we see one "to the extent possibles", we need to run away.

More specifically, if I see that sort of language, I will most likely run away.

I agree. If a TA comes out with any scope sale my applications will go out elsewhere. Ill be outta here.

And tsquare. I agree with your reply to my earlier post. Using any form of leverage to get rid of 50 seater's that are already on the way out is ridiculous. I hope our negotiating committee is not stupid enough to fall for that.

I honestly think all of these guys are running around with their hair on fire and for good cause. Our union, faced with decertification, still does not have the stones to say that scope in any form is not for sale. As mentioned earlier...it's the silence that is telling the story of what is going on.

Fly2002

FWIW, here's the input I sent my reps this afternoon:

Any agreement that results in even one additional RJ and does not begin to reverse the outsourcing of our jobs will be an automatic NO vote from me. Same goes for compensation. However the cake is baked, my W2 as an MD-88/90 Captain needs to be at least as much as an SWA Captain. That means a minimum of $234,000. These are my two hot button issues. And it's not one or the other. It must be both.

LOL. "To the extent possible" is a classic.

Here's another ALPA lawyer beauty from C2K:

The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to take all actions necessary and appropriate to satisfy each of the foregoing conditions.

That one had some real teeth. :)

BINGO. And this ratio stuff. The ratio will continue to get smaller anyways as the 50 seaters are parked. Let that happen first.

we know the ratio of our flying vs. 50 seat AC will continue in our favor due to economics.......

what I'd like to see is the ratio of our flying vs. the 76 & 70 seat AC start to favor our direction.

Basically I want DCI to go away.

I also call any 76 seater a DC9-10. We kill our profession by letting these AC being outsourced. We kill the future Delta pilots by shortening the longevity (due to lack of jobs at mainline). The payrate of a 76 seater should be DC9 pay. That is what it is replacing. DCI will never match that rate.

Exactly. The company is making plenty of money and the future is bright. We need to capitalize NOW.

DALPA would have us believe we can have either some form of scope, or significant pay raises, but not both. I call bullsh!t.

Look at the company's profit/outlook. There are NO EXCUSES.

Not sure if this has been posted here yet.


AerSale buying 25 of Saudi Arabian’s MD-90s

AerSale buying 25 of Saudi Arabian

AerSale has paid a substantial, undisclosed deposit to acquire 25 of Saudi Arabian Airlines' Boeing MD-90s, according to a source close to the situation.

The Florida-based lessor completed the acquisition of the first MD-90 aircraft (MSN 53506) only yesterday. Saudi will be delivering a further two aircraft later in the month.

AerSale is financing the transaction internally through an all-equity purchase, the source says.

Saudi is selling 24 of the 27 MD-90s it retired from service between 2009 and 2011, as well as one MD-90 it is actively flying as a VIP aircraft for the Saudi royal family, the source notes.

The Middle Eastern carrier will be delivering three aircraft a month to AerSale, culminating in the delivery of the VIP aircraft sometime next year.

Despite Delta Air Lines buying up a slew of MD-90s from China Eastern in 2010, industry sources say Saudi's MD-90 fleet will be more difficult to lease out to airlines. This is due to the harsher flying conditions they have endured, as well as their modified flight decks.

"They [Saudi's MD-90s] are not a standard fit as they have MD-11 style flight decks, making them less desirable in the market," one of the sources notes.

AerSale is nevertheless optimistic about leasing some of the MD-90s to other airlines, while others will be sent for part-out, the first source reveals.

The exact proportion to be leased out will be decided upon following a thorough inspection by AerSale, but the aim is to keep as many aircraft as possible in the sky. "They are still young, built between 1998 and 2000, and have [International Aero Engines] V2500 engines, which is the same engine that Airbus uses," the source says.

AerSale's desire to keep the MD-90s flying bodes well for the future of the aircraft, which has become something of a dying breed. Only 59 of the MD-90s still in existence are currently in service, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online database, with the remaining 49 in storage. In addition to Delta's fleet of 34 MD-90s in service and 18 in storage, Japan Airlines has a further 12 in service and one in storage.

It is understood that Saudi took the decision to phase out the MD-90s in anticipation of its upcoming deliveries of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. Last year, Airbus delivered three A320s, seven A321s and one A330 to the airline, and a further seven deliveries have been scheduled for 2012, according to Ascend Online.