Word........

Clemson colored words inserted by me.

 

I think the word you're looking for is "OWNED." However, being owned by Delta doesn't get you squat. I'm sure you are aware how things worked out for Comair and ASA when the Delta Overlords made an appearance.

 

Didn't the joint bid come out just prior to SOC and the 757s (only common aircraft at DL & NW) pilots started fly together Jan 1, 2011? Others started training January 2011.

 

I don't know, maybe you're right. Or was it that the NWA 757 pilots were transitioned over to an ER category and trained on the 767 prior to the joint bid? I remember Ferd doing bounces on the 763 they were using for training up in DTW.

I was looking back through the latest and greatest trying to figure it out.

 

Which regionals did Delta own prior to Pinnacle? Comair, ASA and Compass right? And how many were merged? Like I said when Compass was small and operating nothing but E-Jets that was the best opportunity to merge... Bar can fill us in on the details of what happened there.

When I was hired at Coex we were owned by CAL and we were the only regional at the hubs, now, Coex is owned by ASA which is owned by Skywest.

 

Absolutely right we are owned and anything you do get will be shoved in your face. If you don't shuffle your feet and say "aww shucks thank you", you're an arrogant frosted haired, ipod listenting punk. Management is pure Delta, our IT, payroll and engine maintenance is run by Delta Mainline people. We have delta written on every peice of our airplane. Our Airplanes are owned by delta. We fly exclusively for delta. But are not to the standard of delta. You are not Delta material. But please keep flying airplanes for delta, they need you to generate profits while you take a pay-cut. You bring nothing to the table because the other side looks at you with disdain. Watch yourself some mainline pilots will make life difficult if you don't beg for mercy for utilizing a flow or ssp to further your career. Remember you are not delta unless you received the blessing of a two day interview. But "endeavor" to remember you can only say delta air lines on your PA annoucements. Cracks me up how people are so protective over something that joe public can't differentiate.

We won't be stapled. Delta will get their investment back and then shuffle our.. Sorry THEIR planes else were to maximize profits. Endeavor Air will end in 7 years or less. There is no loyalty for hard work. We are only numbers. We are not delta.

 

I read that in Morgan Freeman's voice from Shawshank Redemption

 

As satirical as you wanted it to sound, all that is true, and it's a problem for employees, and custmoers alike. It's not a slap in the face to say you're not "Delta standard": it's a fact. You're not recruited by Delta. You're, quite literally, a different product, one designed to be cheaper. When it comes to recruiting, for example, you're literally in a different market.

HOWEVER, none of this is a qualitative judgment on any individual employee. You're just part of a system that shouldn't exist, but for management's desire for a cheaper product, and our own scope failures. You're a minor league team. A minor with a head-coach from the major, maybe, but that doesn't change the name on the paycheck. But the fraud that's being committed in you, on us, and on the customer, is that we sell tickets to a major league game, but the actual players may be you, or us.

The honorable thing, all around, would be to stop the nonsense, and eliminate this practice. There should be an objective selection to differentiate those who meet standards from those who don't. It's (sort of) what the flow-through would do, except for one glaring problem: it doesn't eliminate the fraud, it doesn't bring in the minor league team. The end result of this evolution should be a single airline, staffed with qualified people. Our passengers deserve no less, you deserve no less, and the same goes with us.

Meanwhile, you're exactly what you so poetically described.

 

Ooooh. That made it interesting to read. Good call.

 

When I was working in the corporate airplane world I was told to always get 3 bids on anything whether it was painting the hangar floor or getting a rental car or a hotel in Vegas. It was a lot of work but it was a good idea.

So think about it this way, Delta gets 3 bids now to transport the passengers that bought tickets on their website:

1. If it's international passengers, they can chose between Delta mainline and a JV or Skyteam partner.

• If they select Delta, they get 3 bids from fleet types to do it: 747/777, 330/764 or 763. Chose the least expensive smallest capacity option that you can get away with, because the pilots are cheaper.

2. If it's a domestic flight, they can chose between Delta mainline, a regional carrier or codeshare partner called Alaska.

• If you're going to use Delta mainline, try to use the lowest paying aircraft possible of the MD88/90, 320, 737 or 757. Use the 757 as a last resort, those guys cost the same as the 767 pilots, but soon we'll replace the 757s with 737s and the economics will be soooo much better.
• If using a regional, make sure you chose from the cheapest of Pinnacle, Coma..., Pinnacle, GoJet, Skywest, ASA or RAH. Always use the cheapest one. Drives the others to drop their costs to below costs.
• If using Alaska, enjoy.

So whipsaw all of those against each other except for the JV and codeshare partners, pay them as is.

Now I know you might be thinking, seriously pilot pay per hour is not the only driving factor. There are so many other things to take into account such as aircraft performance, aircraft cost, capacity, cargo capacity, maintenance cost, fuel cost, etc.

But you're just so so wrong.

When many of us on here advocated bringing RJs in-house the push back from within our house was that our pay was too high per hour and that's all that mattered. When we pointed out such things as ending overlapping management costs, economies of scale, quality control, liability costs, etc, we were told we were so wrong. All that matters is the per hour pilot rate. So I'm going to just go with the DALPA flow, all that matters is the per hour pay of the pilots.