preflight

So about 1% of our pilots positive despite being "on the front lines". Almost all back at work already....

Does anybody know why we are not filling all the seats and making profits instead of paying customers $800 gift cards to not fly on half empty jets?

This is getting more stupid every day.

Also, if I use my Positive Space ticket on an overbooked flight, can I take the gift card?

JonGoodsell764

I would love to see some statistical proof or really anything showing that blocking the middle seats and remaining at 60% capacity is winning any prizes in the court of public opinion. Especially when the lost profit is coming directly out of the pockets of the pilot/labor groups who are going to lose their jobs October 1 because of it.

Casualinterest

Ed did say that they are hearing from their customers that it is building confidence. I've seen things from some people online that at a minimum, the prospect of not sitting next to someone is why they chose Delta.

And we've discussed this before, but if they lift the seat blocks they'll actually need FEWER pilots leading to potentially more Furloughs. Regardless of whether or not they're making money, don't think that any major is just going to keep everyone on payroll if they don't have work for them. It's about how many people they need. If they're profitable but overstaffed they'll still shed. At this point we should be hoping for anything that keeps the required number of pilots high. That's what's going to save jobs.

Here's my thought process. If they are back in the black next year. Making a 100m profit but overstaffed by 5000 pilots, do you think they're going to keep all 5000 on and just keep paying them not to work? The shareholders would eat them alive, because they COULD be making 150m a year by cutting the fat. Operational need is the only thing I believe will save jobs, and the 60% capacity cut drives it up.

preflight

Had to ZED fare my family recently on AA, they are at 85% and July 1 back to 100%
Seems Delta is determined to get more government bailout before they stop paying people NOT to ride in a half full jet...

pad39a

We’re not really dealing with reality here, we’re dealing with widely varied public perceptions of reality. I think Delta understands that. The 60% thing will probably do more for Delta in the long run than going all-in will do for American. Leisure is going to start to dry up at the end of the summer and then things will get real interesting going into flu and election season simultaneously.

Casualinterest

Yes. Absolutely. Delta has always tried to position itself as the premier choice regardless of what it cost them because they know their passengers will pay a premium for it. Being the premier choice in social distancing is the next logical step for their customer base that demands a little bit higher level of service. I think at this point Delta realizes there are a finite amount of customers and anything you can do to keep them on your aircraft is better than nothing

ninerdriver

And I'll cover the flip side of that. AA is running most of its operation through DFW and CLT right now. Texas and North Carolina are two of the hardest hit Covid states right now. It'll be interesting to see how that impacts AA's strategy.

Dick Burns

American is in dire straits financially, they have nothing to lose.

preflight

Sooooo many crew! I cannot get on a Delta flight without positive space to commute and they are not flying with frequency AA is back to already.

Zerosilver84

They need to raise the cap. I say this because I've been seeing a lot of empty rows because family's are sitting together in the same row. I'd be perfectly fine if they went to 80% for the rest of the year.