Sam I agree with you. I think our only way out of this(outsourcing) now is to lobby the heck out of the FAA/NTSB to make mainline responsible for their outsourced partners. It may finally tip the scales and make it more efficient to bring these aircraft in house.

 

So another way to look at it is its a B scale. Its just a matter of time before they're allowed to "bid" for a larger aircraft, be placed on the seniority list and get a pay raise.

 

This was a result of the NWA bankruptcy. At the time, Mesaba had 35 Avros (69 seaters). Other than that, all feed carriers had 50 seats or less. NWA wanted to outsource 76 seats. NWA ALPA said no. Compass was the "compromise."

- All Compass seats would be offered first to NWA furloughees
- All Compass seats would be available for future NWA furloughs for flowbacks
- All Compass new hires would pass a NWA interview and given flow ups at a specified ratio

This was the result of NWA pilots getting tired of watching folks get furloughed only to have their jobs outsourced. A way of "kind of" bringing it in-house. Best deal they could get with management during BK. Recalls were hot-n-heavy around the same time Compass was drumming up, so I don't think a lot of NWA furloughs actually filled Compass seats. I will add that every Compass pilot I've met has been first-class and gladly welcome them at DAL.

Ball Breaker

 

Yeah, so what he said. It's a "B" scale. Your already a Northwest or Delta pilot, just on a lower pay scale.

Brilliant!

PtP

 

And, if the sky does fall, and Delta furloughs, the furloughed pilots can go to the top of the list at Compass forcing the Compass pilots down and out. This is true even after all of the Compass pilots with flow rights have left. The benefit of the flow is not without risk. Those at the bottom of the list, who don't have flow rights still can get back flowed out of the bottom. It looks like a small risk today, but the world could change tomorrow.

 

Yup, a lot of people forget that the flowthru door swing both ways. This is exactly what happened at ExpressJet after 9/11. 400 Continental pilots "flowed back" to XJT. I lost my left seat for 2 1/2 years. Xjt had to push 600 of their own out on the street.

 

Any hope for a guy who got the offer of employment at NWA right before 9/11 but never made it on property? I ended up at ATA but when they were going down I was so junior I needed something to keep the family going - by this stage two young kids - so I got on with Emirates. Still here, but am keeping an eye on things Stateside. Any advice?

 

During the first two years at Compass, the flow-up was a distant dream, but for new hires the constant threat of the flow-down was always there. Things turned out better than anyone coulda thunk...ya jest never know in this industry. Sam

 

Find your old sponsor at NWA (now DAL) and have them write a letter with your story on DAL email. If you get a little attention, you could be in on the first wave of interviews when they start this fall.

 

Update your info frequently (ie every 3 weeks). They can see that and it says alot about your desire to fly for Delta Air Lines. Good luck.