Thats cool they are giving out employee numbers to those guys. Should make those guys feel better about turning in their resignation letters. At least for now.

 

I hate to be the voice of reality here, but I've been here for nearly a year...and I'm far from optimistic about avoiding the "F" word. An employee number is eyewash...just like the "no furlough due to the merger" clause.

I am personally spooling up Plan B...and urge the latest new hires not to burn any bridges.

Having said that, I welcome you to the company...it is a great place to work, with many great folks.

 

Spaceman, Sorry you feel that way about our pilot group. You may not realize it, though I'm sure there are professional DAL pilots who do, that the great pay raise that DAL pilots recieved in the late 90s was due in part to the strike that the 'disgruntled' NWA pilots took. Anyway, this merger will happen, and I welcome you aboard my cockpit, and pulling my gear...see you at the bar!

 

Fair enough, Reddog...I apologize...and I removed the invective from my post.

I should remember that the vast majority of both pilot groups are good dudes, and it's the lunatic fringes of each group who give the rest a bad name. In any case, I'll stop being a part of the problem here.

Cheers,
Spliff

 

Spaceman,

I have always heard the same characterizations of NWA pilots, but always in my vacuum here at DAL or wherever else I was working. I've also heard AA pilots are Sky Nazis, CAL pilots are all scabs, UAL pilots are all minorities, and DAL pilots are jerks that won't ride in the hotel van with you. We all have our stereotypes.

In any case, you need look no further than the posts on this board by our NWA brothers to see we are lot more alike than different. Most every post is rational and pretty friendly despite this tremendously stressful situation we are all in. Nobody has to be that way on an anonymous web board, but they are.

Sooner rather than later, we will ALL be Delta pilots and I think there are far more people that realize that true strength is in unity, and not in fighting with each other.

 

If I'm pulling gear for you, you better be buying the beer!

 

I plan on going to a roadshow coming up, but seeing as how DAL has already had them I thought I'd just ask. I kept hearing that if we got the SLI worked out and were under one contract that the new DAL would be short 300 or so pilots due to the staffing differences in DAL and NWA.

If that's true, why would you be worried about the F word Spaceman?
If it's not, then maybe I'd better start spooling up Plan B.

 

I ALWAYS buy the refreshments...I figure that's what CA pay is for

 

Remind me to fly with reddog!

Every job, everywhere, all the time, you always need a plan B. That's just capitalism, baby.

 

One word: oil. Airline's can't turn a profit at current ticket prices/capacity levels. I believe domestic capacity will be cut further.

I think these cuts will exceed the extra manning required to bring NWA up to DAL's rules...if those work rules are even negotiated into the combined contract, which is not a given. The pre-meger proposal is void, and labor's bargaining power is eroding every day; there's no telling how much more mgmt will try to squeeze us.

I think there is also going to have to be some fleet "reshuffling" (dump 330s? 742s?) to reduce NWA's and DAL's fleet disparities...and some hubs will have to be downsized or "synergized" at some point.

I'm not trying to be a "sky is falling" kind of guy; just a realist. If you look at the beating we're taking on fuel, the worst is ahead...even with the merger(s). only my opinions...I'm not "in the know" by any means. but I am filling out a NJA application.