Don't take this the wrong way, but I cringe whenever I hear a statement like that….

From the late 90s….

Kudwa…at AA…to some friends…"Congratulations on winning the lottery. This is the last job you'll every have…." (or something very similar).

Plato Rhyne Jr…at DAL…."We are gonna hire 60 a month….forever!" Lots of folks don't remember that "forever" was July 01, two months before 9/11, when Delta put on a 12 month (later much longer) hiring freeze.

I do think the business models are finally working. I do think the demographics look very, very good for the next decade. But forgive me if I cringe like a dog that has been beaten one too many times when i hear stuff like that said out loud. Let's just keep our heads down and hope this trend continues….

Yeah, Plato should have known about islamic terrorists and put in a disclaimer.

I think his point is, $hit happens...there are no guarantees, plan accordingly. It's not an attack on your beloved DAL.

And, for the record, I was in the room when Kudwa was giving one of his speeches and it was,"Congratulations. You'll all retire millionaires!"

I haven't been back since.

I'm smelling what your stepping in. What is worse, people that spew this stuff or people that believe it?

Every idiot knows this industry has always been full of unknowns, and not to blindly trust anyone who makes irresponsible promises about the future.

Well, almost every idiot, it appears.

Like I said, neither here nor there. But it can be interesting how an entity can tailor their views. ESPECIALLY when it's in their own best interest. If they've chosen to "honor the flow", there's nothing they can do about it either. Move on a keep trucking, or look back and "hate" a process that one agreed to honor.

I would be inclined to belive that is MOSTLY true. But just just like EVERY group has their (insert percentage here), there's probably some that disagree with that statement. "NRD's", "you were acquired NOT hired", etc. Like I said, a minority of folks. But EVERY airline has that minority.

The last class was in July.. hiring was stopping regardless of 9/11.

I totally agree with Albie's sentiment, though. Making far reaching statements like Elmer did are reckless and not advisable.

Saying "hiring 60 a month for the foreseeable future" would have been a much better phrasing.

UAL was the same/similar IIRC. There was even rumblings of a furlough with the downturn the economy was starting to take in the fall of 2001. I know a guy that was in that last DAL class. Been at FedEx pressing 10 years now if I'm not mistaken.

I can't remember if it was Brace or Dudda (SP?) that was asked in an interview BEFORE 9/11 about how UAL is going to be able to move forward with their labor costs going up so much from contrac 2000. His response was along the lines of "we'll be getting some of that money back". IOW, upper managemet KNEW that things were going back down. And a repeat of what happened in the early-mid 90's could happen AGAIN.

So, to key off Albie's point, it could be great NOW. But of the fecal matter impacts the antiquated oscillating environmental control system, some of those things could go away. Even if it's little by little.

Our ALPA welcome aboard when I was hired at NWA in '98,
'You guys are going to be captains in 5 years!" Now 16 years later, not even close to upgrade.

T-Square,

FYI…I LOVE Delta. I am a Diamond Elite flyer. My wife is a Platinum. I give you my daughters with regularity to fly out to join me on my trips skiing or traveling to Europe. (2 going tomorrow, BTW…) Had 2 roommates in college who's dads were Delta captains, and worked for another as a CFI in LaGrange where he managed the FBO…

In short…I am a fan. And had the hiring freeze of Jul 01 occurred, I'd likely have been there if they had hired me…

My point is its a dynamic world. I love this industry, and want it to thrive. But I also keep an eye or two on the other options, just in case things turn south.