Part of me thinks that people leaving in droves is what DAL wants to happen anyway. Maybe not at the rate that will ensue if things get really sour. If those were the terms in the first place, I would've never worked here. And I would simply refuse to work here if those terms were granted to them after my being hired.

I agree. There is no winning this situation for management. If they throw out the contract, they lose tons of pilots. If they get the union to agree to concessions, pilots will leave. If they keep the contract at current status, pilots will stick around just long enough to jump to a major. They really should just liquidate now.

Isn't it their goal to lose pilots though? Cheaper than furloughing off the bottom.

Sounds like its a win-win for management. Thin the ranks and the ones that stay are a lot cheaper.

I could see 150 pilots leaving a month if things get too ugly however are those the pilots that the company wants to push out? Highly unlikely, the top 400 - 600 are not going to exit at the same rate as the bottom 1500. So they replace someone making 30K with someone making 24K but the training costs another 25K, in the end the company loses money on the deal. It is too bad Delta rode in with the cash at the last minute and didn't let the place go down.

I somewhat agree. With this place becoming a total 900 operator, you will have some middle seniority CA's who enjoy 90K+ a year going back to FO making 35K a year and sitting reserve. Not sure how they would justify sticking around. Then again, that is their financial situation and happens to be none of my business.

Until a pilot group as a whole, or at least majority, stands together and lines up 500 long to resign on the same day, we will continue to see this abuse in the industry. That tactic is the only one left that hasn't been written as illegal.

I think some of you are overestimating the balls of this pilot group. There is no way there is going to be a mass exodus if the contract gets thrown out. People are not just going to up and leave at a moment's notice. You make it sound like guys are going to quit just for the principal of the thing. Sure guys are going to leave, but not until they have something lined up. The smart guys are already working on it. The lucky ones already have and the guys with the most balls and going to stay.

Yup, most people quit when they find a better job, not when the job they have gets worse.

The "better jobs" out there aren't going to be handed out like candy to the entire pilot group. People will consider more places to be worth leaving for but it still takes a lot of time to get hundreds of pilots interviews, positions, etc. People will leave, and probably at a rate that makes management thrilled.

Very much this.

FOs and maybe some junior Captains. But a senior guy who is topped out at the new -200 max rate of 77/hr is still making 80 grand or more. So if this guy quits, how is he going to supplement his income back to what he was making? I see the junior side bailing, senior side....?