Yep, you should. He is correct.

 

My argument addresses this perfectly. Both contractors (Commair and whoever else) were undercutting Delta, and thus were replacing junior Delta mainline jobs with senior regional jobs. The junior Delta mainline job was, and still is, a more desirable job. Ever seen a Delta pilot resign his # for a regional job? The Commair job, in 2001, was more desirable than the Brand X job, and some Brand X pilots did indeed resign their #'s to go to Commair. Commair has since lost jobs, which were replaced by . . . you guessed it, less desirable jobs @ Brand X.

My 'proposal' is not anything of the sort. The profession is going downhill as more 'desirable jobs' are being replaced by 'less desirable jobs'. Heck, even the SAME job is less desirable (DALPA will be lucky to regain their 2003 pay rates, 10 years later, and that's without adjusting for inflation. Literally, a lost decade of bargaining! Lets not even talk about retirement and medical losses). This is not a personal issue, this is something every pilot in the industry is responsible for. Senior mainline guys gave up scope in the 90's in a short-sighted move, junior regional guys undercut the career they hoped to have by taking their job in the 00's in a short-sighted move.

Other than mainline guys now sacrificing their short-term compensation needs for the good of their careers (and everyone else's too) long term by nailing down scope again, I can't think of any solution. But, it seems only fair - those pilots who benefited the most from RJ's (current mainline guys who either built the time and experience they would have otherwise never had access to without the RJ boom or traded scope for higher pay) now have to pay the piper. Getting dragged through bankruptcy has nothing to do with it - this reckoning had to happen, regardless.

Working for a contractor makes it harder than the brand. But what makes Delta Airlines branded flying belong to DALPA seniority list pilots? Nothing, except the words in a contract. DALPA must flight to keep their flying from being taken by someone cheaper too, and Commair undercuts Delta by a good deal more than $5/hr, and always has. Commair could have scoped out Delta branded flying of 50 seats or less in their contract (along with ASA, @ the time). Heck, you can negotiate directly with Delta management, just like DALPA does. You might have had to give up some compensation to do so, though. Welcome to DALPA's position: 'how much $ are we willing to give up to capture scope, or even retain it?'

We're all fighting the same battle. So, grab and oar and lets start rowing.

Pinnacle guys, sorry for the thread drift. Sucks if you go into Ch. 11 (or 7). Delta had to do this already. You should know by now, all threads on this forum are for discussing Delta.

 

Rumor has it DAL TA has Fedex payrates. As in 270 an hour. Wonder where the cost savings will come from to pay that? If its true...

 

Aviation Data And Insights From Boyd Group International

Just copied this from Delta thread. The section about 50 seat RJ's is very interesting. Consulting firm's (Boyd Group) prediction on regional airline industry.