Too late. This should have been done a year and a half ago.

Elaborate...

Unfortunately, I think they will be merged... when Bedford furloughs the last ones in January.

They'll be merged in line at the Milwaukee unemployment office.

I have said this for a long time. I also feel that the 190's for LCC will be going to MEH/RJET.

There is no way that DAL would not have approved the sale of MEH to RJET. To think otherwise is just plain ignorant.

Especially at the insanely low price that RJET got MEH for.

I'm not sure how merging the MidWest pilots would help anyone.

After all, MidWest's scope failed to protect them. We are seeing that Delta's scope is apparently unable to protect Delta flying from being transferred to lower cost, or better situated "partners" like Republic Holdings and Alaska.

The Midwest pilots have fought for 25 years for professional wages and benefits. A few 40-60 year old pilots will help change the focus at Republic.

Our profession should not used as a profit center for the airline industry.

I guess I need a better explanation. How does a Delta passenger on a Delta ticket get on a Midwest flight? Unless that happens, then what you are suggesting is that Delta management has a secret desire to send our revenue to a competing carrier. I need an explanation of why that would be their strategy.

Other than a bunch of tin foil hat conspiracy theories, I don't see one thing written here that has one thing to do with Delta or Delta pilots. Midwest is an independent company that is owned by another holding company. We do use other divisions of that holding company to provide fee for departure service.

We code share (or at least used to code share not sure the status now) with American Eagle. They are owned by the same company that owns American Airlines. We did not code share with AA, we competed with them. We didn't have some secret plan to replace Delta pilots with AA pilots. The code share with Midwest is one way. It only sends more customers to Delta to be flown by Delta pilots. I need a better explanation of why that is bad.

I really need specifics and not conspiracy theories and broad based emotional attacks. Delta pilots are not being replaced by the Midwest code share, they have more passengers to carry. Delta is pulling one flight out of one market in Milwaukee, they are pulling many other flights out of many other markets due to the economy. Many other carriers are pulling flights out of many markets due to the economy.

In general, I see the Republic moves as a response to Delta trying to sever the relationship with their fee for departure carriers not strengthen and enlarge them. The entire course of this discussion ignores that reality and attempts to create a new alternate reality. I understand the uncertainty that comes with change. I also think people to continue to think rationally about the facts and not create false facts.

My concern with the situations is how do we enforce it. First, I don't necessarily agree that Republic owning 100 seat airplanes does NOT violate our scope. I can actually see the case. I have been assured that it does not, but I have also seen compelling evidence that it does. Same with the AD mods on the e175s. Still contemplating a grievance on both.

Then you have the code share arrangement. They can give us pax, but we cannot give them pax. That is still a 190 bringing passengers to our larger jets. The question remains, why can WE not be the ones flying that 190? Throw in the price that NWA paid for Midwest, and the price that RAH paid for Midwest and things get even fuzzier in my feeble mind. Who is keeping an eye on this? We know where the resolutions went which mandated the watchdog of compliance.

No doubt that some of this falls under conspiracy theory, but what can you say? It reminds me of the old plumbing days on the 727--with caution lights containing bulbs which you could physically replace. You got a light, you went to the checklist. Eventually, you would come to a decision step where you would ascertain whether or not the light extinguished. Naturally, by that time, the instructor had cleared the problem in the sim, so the light was out. As soon as you voiced the light as extinguished, however, all action stopped. The instructor said, "Is the light really out, or did it just burn out?" that taught me to "press to test" every time it looked like the problem was fixed--just to make sure that it wasn't a faulty bulb and that we still really had a problem.

Just some thoughts early on a sunday morning. I liked your thoughts, slow, on the -88. Admittedly, every time I see a 737-700, I burn inside a bit. That was one HARD pill to swallow. I got the logic, but did not agree with it.

Alpha - it is bad simply because a Delta pilot has been replaced with a MidWest, or Republic pilot.

You understand the management argument well. What you don't get is the labor, or union side of the equation.

As brake chatter very well pointed out - the problem is that a Delta pilot is not at the controls. Delta management continues to receive the incremental revenues of network feed, as you so well pointed out in your other post, but as Delta runs from markets where it is not competitive, Delta pilot lose their jobs.

Worse, when we try to negotiate our next contract, management can claim any of our requests forces us to be "non competitive" and threaten to turn the flying over to our "partner."

I'm all for Delta making money. I strongly desire Delta to be the most profitable Company in the history of Capitalism. But as a trade unionist I want them to employ Delta pilots. Our scope needs to be written like other like other multi employer agreements so that it spans multiple carriers and certificates. Maybe a provision that after ten seats per flight flow to Delta jets, the aircraft must be flown by a Delta pilot.

There is no "conspiracy theory." I mean, most of my sources are in the aviation press and posted all over the internet.