Did you guys get the memo?
 

Did the RN guys get the re-realignment memo? There are some interesting changes afoot. A lot of ER time shifting around. I hope JFK doesn't get the short end of the stick.

It will, so will atl. Can you say hello Far East!

One man's trash is another man's treasure. Y'all can keep your 767 flying out of JFK to Europe on the 767 and give me back my Asia flying on the 330. :)

I am still trying to figure out what the 330 is doing in the early part of the shift where they put more 767s on 330 routes than 330s on 767 routes. Maybe they are sending the 330s to the paint shop in those few months?

ACL - any idea where they are going to base it out of? It appears to flow out of Portland as well as it does SEA. I can't move back to California, part of the settlement with that Lebowski guy that wont pay up for my rug.

I don't mind the far east, did that for 5 years out of McChord. I just hope the JFK base gets their share. It seems that the amount of time the ER is flying is staying the same it's just who gets to fly it. Should I look for property in MI?

Could you post the memo here, along with any other merger updates you have gotten since the SLI award? It is a wall of silence from our MEC

To:
Delta Colleagues Worldwide
Date:
December 15, 2008
Re:
Combined fleet helps us maximize the profitability of every route

One of the principles of Delta’s merger with Northwest is to leverage the strength of our combined aircraft fleet to build the most durable, profitable airline network in the world. Given the difficult economic environment we face, this flexibility is even more crucial and we are moving quickly to create a flight schedule for 2009 that optimizes the profitability of every route. In the spring, our customers will begin to see fleet changes that better deploy our largest aircraft to match customer demand between our hubs and highest density routes, while smaller aircraft will right-size markets where we currently have more lift than required.

For instance, between New York-JFK and Venice we will introduce daily Airbus A330 service during the peak summer season to offer more seats than have previously been available with 767-300 aircraft. In markets like Portland to Tokyo, we will right-size from an A330 to a 767-300 to better match projected demand.

Changes to be loaded into Delta schedules in the coming weeks include:



Before our merger, neither Delta nor Northwest had the flexibility to optimize routes for profitability or significantly change the scope of our fleets without making large, expensive aircraft orders. This is why our merger makes us even stronger in the current economic climate and makes our flexibility the envy of our peers.

We recognize that while these changes are good for our business and our long-term success, they will require changes for our employees during the transition period until we are able to integrate seniority and align work rules for our combined employee groups. Your divisional leaders will share with you how these fleet changes could impact your area.

Between markets noted above and new cities we will be serving around the globe next year, we know you will embrace these opportunities to fly to new destinations. We remain committed to keeping the lines of communication open with you and your divisional leaders as we make changes to ensure Delta is well positioned for the environment we face in 2009 and beyond.

This is an exciting time for Delta. Your work every day continues to be a pivotal contribution to Delta’s international success. Our airline, even with the most convenient connections to the most destinations around the globe, cannot be successful without your commitment to giving our customers the best service every day.


Bob

Check your company email.

Saw that - I was referring to MEC Merger Updates. Understand Moak has put a few out since SLI. Our MEC CH is AWOL.

Words is not re-basing until are past SOC. That is the official word. Now that they can do all of the shuffling in six to 12 months, lets them know that paying for hotels in these cities will be minimal.
Look for ER bases in MSP, SEA, and DTW. 330 bases in ATL and NYC. I am sure that will will still have an ER base in NYC and ATL, but they will be much much smaller.
It will also help the company push the point that we need to combine the ER and 767 categories. That is my guess. I would see a push on that in the next few years. I know it is coming, I just do not know when.

I am sure that they are working on combining the MEC now. I know that there is a vote that will be coming in a few months.

BTW any DAL guys go to the SEA NWA LEC meeting on Dec 8th?

I would be very surprized to see the ER based in MSP/SEA/DTW as well as ATL/JFK/LAX/CVG....that would be seven cities and would spread the fleet kind of thin, IMO. I would think maybe one NW city at the most, and the rest would be covered by 6 day trips/DHs. My prediction: West coast asia flying on the ER out of LAX, European flying on the ER from MSP/DTW/PIT/RDU/BDL?/EWR/IAD?/BOS?/MEM? out of CVG/ATL/JFK and possibly DTW or MSP. (but not both)(I know some of those cities are/will be served by NW A330s and 757s) My assesment of the new ER routes: MSP-CDG..ok, but long limo ride, good crewroom. ATL-LGW (A330)-you can have it! (good workout room, though) AMS-BOM..whoop-tee-doo! (never been, but will probably be a JFK 6-day) DTW-LHR..haven't been (low time trip, even with a 6 day via DTW) EWR-LHR.."nummy" -can't wait to get back to EWR:eek: (we'll leave that to you JFK boys) PDX-AMS..looking forward to actually laying over in AMS..(vs. The Hague) ATL-AMS (A330)...bummer!(stealing our trip);) ATL-FCO (A330)..double-bummer! Hopefully the 2nd flight in the summer will be an ER. (nice, 21hr. 3-day) JFK-VEN (A330)..sorry, JFK guys! JFK-ATH (A330)..really sorry, JFK guys! Great layover, hopefully we'll still have it in the summer in ATL.(23 hr. 3-day).... Hey, if all the good European flying on the ER leaves ATL, at least we'll have Africa and Moscow to fall back on!!!:rolleyes:

Heard the same thing about post SOC. Also expect MD base in MSP and 320 in SLC. Increased DC9 out of MEM and DTW with a lot of hubbing and spoking through ATL

I have been told that as well.
You need to understand something. If you base at MSP, SEA, ATL, DTW, and NYC you will literally save this company millions in hotel costs a year. We can have smaller bases. We have proven that a small base of 50 to 100 crews is more than adequate to man the reserve coverage. I would suspect that one or two of those would be larger than the other, but not having to provide hotels in hub cities would be worth the added hassle for the company.
You are correct, DTW, may not have a ER base, but MSP and SEA will. DTW is on the fence right now. On the converse you will see the Former NWA jets moved.

Heard, (with the disclaimer that everything is subject to change), 7ER to DTW, with DTW focused as an Intl base. Still considerable NB (NW pre-merger) presence to feed it, but probably no new pre-merger DAL NB there. The SLC move would be pull the MD88/90 out completely because they cannot do both coasts from there, to MSP where they can, and 320 out of MSP to SLC where it can do both coasts. Have not heard if we will increase 757 (after Asia pullout) Intl flying out of where? to supplement AMS, and other long/thin EU destinations. Agree that DAL is going to become a lot less ATL-centric.

I say heard for a reason. ;)

All the 320s to SLC, or just adding a SLC base? Or just filtering them through SLC, LAX on trips?

I would think that there would be enough 320's out West for a base.

Thanks ACL....

Let it be known for the DL west coasters that I don't want it, I want to go no farther west then MSP.:D

Be nice if these guys had enough respect for the pilot group(s) and what those groups allowed them to accomplish (with associated huge bonuses) to at least fill us in on their plans. Why does all this crap have to be dragged out of a chief pilot, LCA, or some web board?

Because its still a lot of conjecture at this point, albeit informed, not hard plans.

True. But they are hard plans, they just reserve the right to change them when they see fit. :)

I guess that's one way of looking at it, I would be very surprised if ATL had an actual reduction in flights. I think it will remain the largest single airline hub (international and domestic) in the world, (as well as the busiest airport in the world) for quite some time to come. But yes, only because of the simple fact of the merger, ATL will have a lesser percentage of all flying at Delta than before the merger. I have been through the Western and PanAm mergers and have seen quite a few "fortress" hubs/domiciles that ended up being "Gone with the Wind",(SFO, SEA, DFW, MCO, MIA/FLL, BOS, MSY, IAH, ORD) ....but through it all, there stands Tara (ATL)....like a Stone Wall. (to mix a few literary and historical metaphors!) [Afterall the airport is named the (William B.) Hartsfield-(Stonewall) Jackson International Airport;)]

I think you might very well see a reduction in ATL traffic - which it desperately needs IMO - and see the eggs spread around in more widely dispersed baskets - they didn't merge with NWA so they could build up ATL, but to capture a lot of traffic from other markets - where those markets exist.

I disagree. If anything I think they will grow ATL. Any reduction in ATL would open the door for Airtran. If AT were to go out of business and Delta did not need to protect it, you may see a reduction. Until then ATL will stay the same or get bigger.

If the MSP "fortress hub" becomes "gone with the wind" it will be due to a lack of defense. Delta bought Western for the West coast feed and now we will have to acquire it again via Alaska Airlines. Let's not repeat history with our Northern hub.

Yeah, if anything I'd bet ATL sees a bit more traffic. An example is the additional Narita flight. We can't just throw a whale on that route (in addition to the 777) and not feed it. I hate to be a glass half empty kind of guy; however, I would be surprised if Delta doesn't reduce MSP and or MEM/CVG a bit more.

Delta management's philosophy has always been to leverage the strength and size of the ATL hub, I'd be surprised to see that change.

Uh, that would be the (William B.) Hartsfield-(Maynard) Jackson International Airport...as in former Atlanta mayor Maynard "you better give all the airport concessions to my buddies, or I'll call you a racist" Jackson.

You will see ATL grow. I do not see MSP shrinking to much. It has many Fortune 100 companies up there as well. (Those target execs. need to get to Paris to talk to their owners! ;) )
There will be a lot of shifting. I bet we will see a gauge increase to ATL, not necessarily a frequency increase. We are going to be competing in ways Delta has never done before.
Then again competition is a new word around here!

When they added the second name to the airport was when I started referring to it as simply "Atlanta" in my PAs. (Fortunately, the only time I now see ATL is when I go to recurrent.)

Good point - lends credence to putting additional DC9 in the system to run head to head against AT. Those 100-125 seat frames could be AT killers if deployed properly.

Any word on where the MD's pulled off the shuttle are going to go?

Amen.

I do believe that the current management team doesn't have the "Atlanta-centric" mentality of Ron Allen.

Glen Hauenstein seems to be literally scouring the globe for revenue opportunities.

Yep, they will announce that in the next six weeks max. I bet it comes out right before the AE.
I can tell you that they may not be utilized right away. It my memory serves me correctly, there are four to six MD's allocated to each city pair. From what I have been told it would add up!

Yes, I'm well aware of the correct name, it sort of fit in with the post, though. Forgot to add a ;)! (I'm actually surprised it took this long for someone to notice it) --with the amazing historical similarities between Maynard and Stonewall, no one noticed it! (I added the ;), to be politically correct)

Say WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!:eek::eek::eek:

Sarcasm. I think Wiggy forgot the ":cool:."

Indeed I did, thank you New...:cool::rolleyes: