What's wrong with profits? Some people on here don't want our corporation to be profitable? I think certain routes have perfect sized planes on them. The 76 seat cat is out of the bag. It would be more than tough to recapture all of them, but we also know that the 50 seaters aren't doing well either, which means a profit drain. If the route is going to have an RJ on it, why not have one that makes ALL OF US money? Cedar Rapids to Detroit probably can't sustain a 717. A 50 seater might not be able to do the trick, but a 70 seat CR7 may. That is what I mean. Many on here think all of the 325 "large" RJs will take over every mainline destination. I think at least 102 of them will fill in for current 50 seat routes, to help them make MORE money. Any of the current 76 seater routes that are doing great may get a 717 on it, which will make us MORE MONEY. That helps you and me too. And the great thing is? 200 money losing 50 seaters will drift away.

Exactly. It is absolutely amazing to see hourly wage earners who think they are management. Is it any wonder how we have gotten to the point where a major airline union thinks a "limit" of 325 76 seat transcon-capable airliners is "good scope?" If every pilot group cheated on our pilot services cartel even when not under the duress of bankruptcy the profession would be even worse off.

Bill, DLpilot had a great question- do you support raising the limit on large RJs just to make more profits?

Also Bill, you do realize that DCI pilots could fly a MD-88 for a lot less than I do? Do you support having them fly bigger jets like an MD-88 so that the airline can be more profitable?

I've changed how I'm seeing this small jet scope section.

DALPA has succeeded in cutting the company short on 76 seat jets by 30, but letting them keep 70 CR7's.

In order to keep the 70 jets that seat 65, DAL is parking 200 50's 5-8 years early and ensuring that DCI doesn't get to operate more than 39% of the total domestic block.

Add up all the other gains in codeshare and JV scope, I still like it.

And nobody is surprised.....

1D4 At least 85% of all category A and C operations each month will be under 900 statute miles.

It's always been about extra 70's (less 76's) and you can't add seats to them because they won't fit! 85% limited to 900 miles and no more than 6% between hubs, no more props and block hours ratios to boot.

It won't matter. Some people just believe that "this is it." There won't be any more hulls of this type -or- any higher seat limits allowed -or- any higher weight limits allowed.

But,

There always is. We are about to give more ground, all the while people will really believe that we gained. Then, in 3 years, management will want to once again, move that line. "just this once, just a little bit because we've got a real problem." And ya know what, we'll probably do it again.

One of these days, our outsourced labor is going to be flying something within 10 or so seats of our smallest plane, then what? It ain't gonna be pretty when they announce what they're going to park.

75 or 767, sure. 737, ok, at least the panel looks like an RJ's. Airbus, easy peazy ... but an MD88? I don't know how we fly the thing.

Mostly it seems to involve trickery, knowing what the airplane is going to do, instead of what it is supposed to do. Working with systems that fail worse than The Adventures of Pluto Nash failed at the box office. Flying a wing & flight control system that gives up faster than a Spanish Prime Minister at an economics conference. Celine Dion's love life makes more sense than the MD88 and she was screwing around with some really old stuff.

MD88 pilots routinely summon the skills embodied by German Flight Test pilots on their fourth cup of coffee at 9am. The Mercury Astronauts have nothing on our MD88 airmen. Chuck Yeager would have told Douglas to take the pointy end and shove that POS up old man Douglas's neither regions.

You Sir are simply being humble. Naked island girls should lay palm fronds at your feet as you walk the terminal. The entire crew of the Enterprise applauds your effort:

Just found a MD88 pilot's year book photo: