I tried both of those techniques on a flight to JoBerg, and was shot down in flames! there were about half the BC seats open, and I couldn't get one because someone had paid for my ticket....

Wow, that sucks!

I guess the Purser was a P.I.T.A? That's a very long time to be stuck in coach!

It should more properly be called 12.8/4/3 with another half point thrown in this month. You are however correct that when I heard the initial rumors I was for voting no. I even voted no initially. Then I read and viewed everything I could find about the contract including a 2 hour talk with one of the negotiators. Changed my vote.
Aside from the rates virtually everything posted here was wrong or a huge exaggeration about the contract. The only error DALPA made in their projections about the contract was underestimating how well it would turn out.
The contract also broke the logjam for pilot contracts and finally got the ball rolling at AMR and UAL. Had it not passed I think it might be very possible that no contracts would be done and we would just now be getting before the NMB. I like the choice I made in changing my vote and think it has positioned us far better then even I hoped for this contract.

Sounds more like a very weak CA. Pursers get fired from the program if caught doing things like that. I always tell them to please move the passenger up and that I will take full responsibility for it and tell the company I ordered the purser to do it if someone writes it up.

How do you know that the Capt. was even aware there was a Pilot stuck in coach with empty business class seats?

We are so far removed from the boarding door, and the entire process, unless one of our own can get to me before I board the aircraft, an hour prior to push, I never hear about it until we are in the bus on the way to the hotel.

I did have a friend going from Joburg to ATL, a DL 767 Capt. who had been my tweet IP in 1983, who had bought 4 tickets for himself, his wife and two daughters. They did a 3 week tour of South Africa and were on their way home.

I did talk to the agent about moving him up but business class was already full. So I introduced his family to our F/A's and made sure they were well taken care of...as well as can be, given he was in the back of a packed sardine can for 17 hours!

I think I got on her bad side by poking my head in the cockpit to say hi. One of the FO's showed me the crew rest, and she came around the corner when I came back out, and she freaked out on me. I showed her my badge, and explained, but she was done with me at that point. I can laugh about it now......

ah. so you were against the deal before you were for it. Fantastic.

Now show your math. Don't forget to include the PS you gave up, and be sure to adjust for inflation/cost of living increases. thanks.

AE bid question:

I was awarded new equipment in the last (365) AE with projected conversion in the month of November. Can anyone confirm that there is no reason I cannot be awarded a different domicile (same new equipment) and a resulting EARLIER training/conversion in this latest AE (since this one must have its conversions complete by 1 Nov)?

Long time no see! Welcome back!

This seems to come up every few years. It's the way the rules are. PS gets upgrades before NR. Always been that way. Doesn't matter who the PS works for. A newbie Delta PS will also upgrade before anyone else senior to them who is nonreving.

As for their flights, everyone gets priority on their own metal. They are Delta flights is the sense that Delta has "purchased" all the seats on the airplane for it's passengers and allowed them to use a Delta flight number for marketing. As far as everything else is concerned, they are completely separate companies