The really good news is there will be all those folks near 60 that'll take the cash to retire early during the next downturn in 10yrs...which may means less furloughs.

Or one would hope.

I'm not sure what 'cash' you are speaking of. The only 'cash' to be had for a Delta Air Lines retiree is what you have saved yourself, since there is no longer a pension.

3000 or so of the retirements I mentioned were people taking early advantage of the lump sum option we used to have, and that certainly helped the recalls, but there is not going to be anything like that in the future.

Delta's business plan will have to be good enough to survive the lean times.

Just a few questions for the Delta folks.
Marty 4-0-4

Hi Marty 4-0-4

Don't have all the answers handy so I'll give you what I've got:

Most junior base hops back and forth between ATL M88 and NYC M88 (NYC is much smaller only about 50 F/Os and ATL about 450).

Most junior CA is NYC M88 (not sure what DOH is for this).

As for other bases - we have had trouble filling the 767 F/O position in LA (just barely junior to ATL M88).

Right now, we have about 6700 on the seniority list although quite a few of those are on mil leave/bypass so there are about 5600 active pilots right now.

All of this could change as we have 10 757ERs that we're getting from American in the spring and should result in a large bid this spring to fly the aircraft this fall.

Also, we are going to have new hires in the Feb 6 class - we should be hiring 20/month for the rest of the year (200 total pilots required in 2007).

Good Luck to you.

The kicker is that he's yet to even fly there(tasty Kool-Aid, I guess)...I'll counter it with www.prairieairservice.com. I have flown there.

LAFF, do you think it's right to tell someone to attend a school with no first hand experience of the operation?

Thanks ExDeltaGuy.

O.K. just one more question for the DAL guys. What is the furlough policy like. ExDeltaGuy said that a number of pilots were on mil leave or still bypass. How long is the bypass good for. I.E. will some new-hire guys get the bump and flush if the company turns its self around?

also,

Still looking for the airspeed velocity of an un-laden swallow?

Marty 4-0-4

Bypass policy is 10 years and the bypassed guys can only return while there is active hiring. They retain their seniority but lose years of service pay. The mil leave guys have up to 5 years on Military Leave and they retain everything - they come back wherever their seniority will allow them to hold a position - doesn't usually result in a displacement unless there are a bunch of guys coming back at once (not sure how many guys are on mil leave/bypass at the current time although I know it's in the hundreds - some of the bypass guys may never come back). For the new hires the plan is for those guys to stick around (I don't think any airline hires with intention of furloughing) but they could be stuck on the bottom (RESERVE) for quite a long time depending on how the industry does and Delta's expansion plans after the exit from Bankruptcy go.

Good Luck to all considering Delta - we are hiring with almost immediate class dates - Jan 23rd interviews and Feb 6 class dates - excellent first year pay - $49/hour with a 70 hour guarantee.

After last bid, junior MD88 capt is in NYC- #5097, DOH 04/98. The moral of the story- if you plan to move after you're hired, consider living within a 2 hour drive of one of the New York area airports.

Regarding the unladen swallow question- European or African?

Ok........per Google!!

http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/

:D