Anyone know if it's legal for them to change credit times from the bid packet to the awarded trip? Or is it illegal only once the trips are assigned? Gotta go break out the contract.

For example, I got two 5 days or next month that according to the bid packet are worth 28:08, and when I was awarded them today, they are 27:50.

 

I don't know if this would be the reason, but is there a DH involved? Remember the DH's are 100% for line building purposes.

 

On reserve again, is this ever going to end. I’m going crazy here. Plus, my line shows that I’m working 7 days in a row including training and deadhead to training, is that legal?

 

I'm sure you can get JFK, reserve is about a year at JFK or CVG. Please do come to JFK, I need people below me

 

D'oh! That'd be it. Thanks.

 

No it is not. But maybe wait until you get to that 7 day stretch to say something. You might be able to get an extra day off out of it.

 

I'm back on reserve next month too..after holding a line the last 2 months.

Shoot me in the face.

 

That's what I was thinking, just wait till the end of the 6th. day before I call unless they catch it.

 

Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 12:06 PM EDT
Delta's Bastian pledges to keep Northern Kentucky hub, jobs

Delta Air Lines President Ed Bastian assured Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and reporters today that a merger with Northwest Airlines will not result in hub closures, frontline job cuts or the dismantling of its regional subsidiary, Comair.

In a press conference at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Bastian said the proposed $17.7 billion merger, announced April 15, will create "America's truest form of competitor," with a No. 1 or No. 2 position in major international markets, including Asia. But he would not say if Delta will increase its traffic out of Cincinnati or add originating flights, which are more profitable and help support local businesses, such as shuttle services and long-term parking.

Bastian did say that the merger will provide Delta with the financial durability necessary to manage rising fuel costs, which, with crude oil at $115 a barrel, are almost twice as high as one year ago. Each $1 of that increase translates to $80 million to Delta, he said.

"We think it will be a greater merger for our employees. It will be a greater merger for our customers. It will be a greater merger for our communities," Bastian said. "This, in fact, will help us keep this hub open."

Locally, he said Comair will remain a long-term partner regardless of whether it remains under Delta's wing or is sold off, which will be a corporate decision. Comair, which is larger than Northwest's two regional carriers, could actually see increased opportunities to service Northwest flights and hubs, he said. Of 1,100 U.S. routes, only four exist where competition will be reduced because of the merger.

Comair has actually flown 5 percent above plan so far this year, and by the summer may need to use some of 14 jets it said it would ground this year, said Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx. At the same time, Comair expects to reduce non-fuel expenses by $35 million in 2008.

Delta's rather upbeat prediction was enough to convince Beshear to abruptly change his plans Thursday and come to the airport. He said the state is always open to discussions on what it can do to make Delta more competitive.

"I feel very strongly that this airport and this hub are vital to the economic development of the whole region," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to assure these commitments."

As for the hub's profitability, Bastian said it "supports itself" and is no more or less profitable than the hubs in Atlanta, Salt Lake City or New York's JFK. But with Northwest, it could benefit by feeding southern regions of the world, he said, pointing out that the recent Open Skies agreement with Europe means more European carriers will be flying directly in to the United States.

A combination with Northwest, he said, would better position the airline to compete in this dynamic. For instance, he expects international flights from Cincinnati to increase, including to Asia, a strong destination for Northwest, which is the No. 1 U.S. carrier to Japan. Delta is on a campaign to diversify overseas travel, a strategy devised when it emerged from bankruptcy in spring 2007. In March 2008, it added a route to Shanghai, China, from Atlanta, and in the summer will add four flights to Africa, all from New York-JFK.

The merger itself will provide the opportunities to grow, he said. "We're trying to take control of our destiny into our own hands."

The Northwest deal, which is pending regulatory approval and the blessing of Northwest's pilots, is expected to be complete by year's end.

 

Delta, Northwest Deal Would Link Disparate Aircraft Fleets

April 14, 2008: 05:37 PM EST


CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA), believed to be close to announcing a merger that would form the world's biggest airline by passenger traffic, will have to grapple with two quite different fleets of aircraft.
Typically, airlines get cost synergies from using the same types of aircraft, including similar models made by a single manufacturer. That cuts costs for pilot training and for maintaining aircraft, and allows more flexibility in how routes are flown.
But the hundreds of aircraft flown by Delta and Northwest aren't a very good fit.
Delta's all-Boeing fleet is relatively young although, at the end of last year, it included 117 older MD-88s, which are no longer made; Delta is the only U.S. carrier that flies MD-90s. Both aircraft types were made by McDonnell Douglas, which was bought by Boeing Co. (BA). Delta also owns a regional airline subsidiary, Comair, which it has considered selling. The regional airline is shedding planes with 50 or fewer seats, which aren't economical with today's high fuel prices. Altogether, Delta operates a fleet of 578 aircraft, with 76 new aircraft on order.
Northwest, on the other hand, flies a combination of Boeing and Airbus planes. It operates the second-oldest fleet in the U.S., behind AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines, and is working to modernize its fleet by gradually taking old DC-9s out of service. Generally speaking, the older the plane, the higher the fuel bill.
At the end of 2007, Northwest operated 94 DC-9s out of a total of 519 aircraft. More than 150 planes in the fleet came from Airbus, a division of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADSY), Boeing's European rival.
The Minnesota airline has 75 new aircraft on order from both manufacturers, and will be one of Boeing's first U.S. customers for the new 787 Dreamliner.
Maintenance plans at the two airlines are quite different: Delta does much of its own aircraft maintenance, while Northwest hires third parties to maintain its fleet.
With the price of oil skyrocketing, the need for airlines to cut costs is acute. For the first time in history, U.S. airlines are trimming domestic capacity to weed out unprofitable routes, even though they may be giving up market share.
Airline mergers haven't worked well in the past, partly because they cost so much. In addition to disparate fleets, airlines have to blend together pilot groups - seniority is still a thorny issue for Delta and Northwest - and combine reservation systems, a problem that, along with pilot problems, plagued the US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) merger with America West last year.
One Holding Company, Two Air Operations
Airlines this year have been under the gun to complete a merger before the Bush administration leaves office. Investors worry that antitrust views on mergers may be tougher under a new administration.
With so many issues to sort out, Delta and Northwest could be better off creating a holding company to operate two separate airlines, until such time as it made sense to complete a full-fledged merger.
Working together, the two airlines could share aircraft and boost revenue by taking advantage of their complementary route networks, argues airline consultant Bob Mann.
In the domestic market, the regional jets of 75 seats that Delta uses in its Comair unit could efficiently replace Northwest's 100-seat DC-9s. "If they are able to generate more revenue on those routes, Northwest wouldn't need to cut capacity as much," which would also add revenue, Mann said. Delta, which has contracts with other regional carriers, could also contract with other airlines to replace DC-9s at Northwest, Mann said.
At the same time, the two airlines could gain revenue synergies on their successful international routes, Mann said. "If you're the world's biggest airline, you're number one, and American (now the world's largest carrier) is number two. That means you can get more corporate accounts, since companies want to work with the airline that has the most flights to the most destinations."
-By Ann Keeton, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4120; [email protected]