I am a Delta new hire, Mar 3rd class date. I now have a very vested interest in the future of Delta. I don't really know what life will look like if we merge. But, I am almost certain it will good if we do not. With Delta experiencing lots of growth with no end in site. I have a couple questions for Delta guys.

1. I have heard the Delta pilot union has a large scope, what is this scope?

2. Why don't the pilots just say that they do not want to merge?

3. I have written my senators to tell them that I do not think a merger between Delta and Northwest is in the best interest of (me) the American consumer. Has anyone else that is not in favor of the merger written their congressmen?

Thanks for your thoughts

Cheers

Sounds like some wishful thinking.

There probably isn't a big threat of immediate furloughs if the merger happens. But, mergers typically add a lot of debt to the balance sheet, and when the payments start coming due, watch out. 2-3 years down the road, anyone in the bottom 10% better have a backup plan.

Of course, having a good back-up plan is always a good idea in this business. Flew with a lot of former Eastern guys at NWA that convinced me to keep my military reserve job. Those guys saved my butt when 9/11 happened.

(1)Scope....a part of the pilots contract that says something like: Delta pilots will do all of the flying for this company in any aircraft above____ number of seats.
(2) "Why don`t pilots say they don`t want to merge" that`s about as realistic as you standing on a set of railroad tracks and say "I don`t want the train to hit me".
(3) a good idea, but a waste of a 41 cent stamp.
Sorry if this isn`t what you want to hear, but after 30 years in this business, I guess I`m just too jaded.

Jaded, maybe. Realistic, absolutely...good post, RIP.

FF

tedspal-
The Delta pilot scope clause is the very first section of our contract. It is 25 pages of single spaced very small type. It is complex and controversial. Even if you read the 25 pages you won't really understand exactly what's going on until you've been around the industry for a little while.
Basically it tries to make the company generate their revenue using pilots from the Delta Seniority List on as many flights as possible. Of course, the company wants maximum freedom to generate revenue using regional pilots and foreign pilots whenever it suits them and whenever they can find pilots who will do the job for lower pay and benefits. This whole process is called "code-sharing". Some of it we allow and some of it we don't.
My advice to you is study your airplane manual and not the scope clause. That will come in due time. Enjoy your new hire training without worrying about union politics or merger scenarios.
As they're fond of saying over there in the schoolhouse whenever you ask a question that can't be answered quickly or easily; - "You'll get that on the line".

Excellent advice for a new guy. There is a lot of concern out there, but if one looks at the history of Delta and the mergers Delta participated in, there has been a period of big growth following each merger. I expect there will be a lot of growth in the event of a DAL/NWA merger since it will be an end to end merger rather than an overlap merger. OTOH if USAirways had been successful in it's pursuit of Delta there would have been a lot of overlap that would have to be cutout. That would have been bad for the employees.

Isn't that what the airlines are all about? Thanks for your input though, very insightful.

Better have a backup plan. Despite any promises or assurances, my guess is there will be furloughs, especially with a recession almost certain later on this year. The big shots are doing a deal to make money for themselves primarily and getting rid of people is one way they do it. The other thing you can be sure of is that the senior pilots won't hesitate to throw the new-hires under the bus should it suit their needs.

That is probably going to be the most accurate statement when this merger is all over. I'm sure the seniority list negotiations will involve all pre 9/11 pilots getting ratioed. After that the 07/08 hires will get DOH at the bottom of the other list. I didn't want to go to NWA because career progession was much better at DAL. We'll see how it shakes out, but I'd rather just not have to worry about a merger and have Delta stay Delta. Now if we can get rid of the hats in a merger, then I'm all for it!