I 100% agree

It’s been a slow grind improving vacation, years ago it didn’t matter because you had paper bidding, or the post award slide. I don’t think we will ever see something like that again.

What I would like to see is, sick bank sell back, no ready reserve, CDO’s(schedules sucked after they went away), actual full LMS pay, and a match of the AA wholly owned retention package. Direct contact would have to eliminate RR, for it to be even considered.

Ready reserve impacts such a small percentage of pilots that there's no way that alone should offset direct contact for everyone.

Yes, but it impacts junior captains the most, and those are the pilots being targeted for retention.

Another thing to consider, from what I have seen over a decade of reserve, is that RR actually increases schedule disruptions for line holders, because RRs are used as a last resort. If you have ever sat RR, you rarely ever get assigned anything. It also results in poor reserve utilization.

Is matching AA's wholly owned retention package really in the realm of possibilities? Is it even working at PT/OH/MQ? I'm all about a Regional that does something to help it's attrition, but I wonder how effective throwing bonuses at people really is. Just my two cents.

If we give the company another means of contact while removing something that most impacts pilots that the company wants to retain, then that's a double-win for the company.

Those are fair points, but again, the overall percentage of impacted pilots is small. Ready reserve as leverage works in our favor. We need big gains to offset both that and direct contact.

I'd rather keep RR than give it up for direct contact....CDOs coming back would be nice to fix schedules. But can't see that happening.

Bases
 

How's everything looking in training as of now? Junior bases? Upgrades looking like they'll come down? Still hoping to get MSP on the 200, preferably the 900 though.

Retention bonus greater then AA. Delta pay for the 900 and a seniority number. That would almost guarantee no attrition. It’s going to cost a lot to keep this airline running. I know everyone going to say then Delta might as well absorb us. If that’s what it takes, then that needs to happen. Everyone is in the same boat. We need to be much better then everyone else to survive. Period!

I look at it this way, the regionals are going to lose half their pilot group in the next two years. If mainline intends to keep those routes, they will have to cover it with mainline flying. That will suck up the other half of regional pilots. So the end result is probably the end of the regionals in the next five years. So better to take what you can get before the ship sinks. Will it make a difference, no, but any bonus would be nice.

The only way to get people to stay, is for Delta to become far and away the highest paid airline. That’s not going to happen, and right now Delta has become a young pilot airline. Also, Delta has recaptured more regional flying than the other majors, so there is an unseen additional seniority bonus at AA/United, when they recapture their regional flying.