Thanks for refreshing my memory (and Mesabah). I did recall that it seemed suspicious with regard to the senior MEC guys trying to get theirs, but they didn't seem to take it when their number was up.

I ran into one of the recent XJ flows the other day... seemed like a very nice guy and younger than I would have thought.

MN, JM, made it, MEC chair/Vice chair; JE was an 07 hire, and had been on the MEC only a short time. TW had his cushy national job, rather than take the $29K NWA was offering when his number was up.

I wonder exactly how legal it was for our MEC to negotiate 100 flows. It's really a DFR, yet no one complains about it. It would be the equivalent of DAPLA getting the DB back to 100 pilots. I know life's not fair, but I'm forced to pay for this type of arbitrary representation. Frustrating doesn't begin to describe it.

Edit: ..........and then, of course, the vault letter, how much did I have to pay for that too?

I don't have a dog in the fight but as I recall is was 1 year of flows. 9 a month x 12= 108. So DL gave 1 year worth of flows. You can say the MEC guys got a break, or say they didn't, but plenty of other XJ Mec guys were out of the flow. The SSP has shown no true leaning towards any one merger group, Mec work, mgmt titles, or instructor credentials. So the "one year" for flows could have the political coincidence and nothing more, or it could be a conspiracy... Who knows, but it's done.

In any case, going forward, something has to change overall. Maybe the 3rd attempt will be the winner or everyone will just stop trying to create a path. I'd bet on a 3rd attempt since they won't raise pay... Unless they want us to implode which doesn't really make sense to me with the amount of capital invested, yet anyone can quickly point out the $2B cost of comair, so yea... There's the 2 sides of it all.

The seemingly obvious parallels between Delta's (de facto) purchase of us vs Comair and ASA really dont exist. The purchases were made for very different reasons by a completely different management team at a different time in the industry. Back then, Comair was probably the most well run regional airline in operation and DL wanted them all to themselves. ASA on the other hand was very poorly run, operationally and DL wanted more direct control of them in an attempt to improve their operations.

DL saw an opportunity for cheap labor by "rescuing" us from Ch.11 and providing all the financing. And they didnt, and would not have spent nearly as much money to do so as they did on Comair and ASA. As a result, they now own us. But who knows for how long.

As for what they will do, for right now they wont do anything, as they've said. Essentially they dont have to until another regional offers something better and attrition increases (probably to include the few they have managed to hire recently) to a point where staffing the 81 900s becomes undoable. Right now everyone is waiting to see who blinks first.

The point of purchasing Endeavor was to get us so cheap, Delta could cut the costs of the other DCI carriers. The other service agreements have rate resets based on the cheapest airlines.

The other DCI airlines have to get their costs down, they have no choice in the matter, because of us.

While you may be right about DAL's decision to spring 9e from bankruptcy, there is always a choice in the matter of getting costs down.

Not when you don't own scope.

Keep in mind that it got rid of the CPA with 9E, so aircraft can be parked or shifted as need be. Once the last of the new CRJ900s is delivered (I believe that is early next year as it will coincide with the 88th 717 delivery), the maximum total number of 50-seaters between all the DCI regionals is 125. Where those will be living is yet to be announced.

Every dollar they spend on Endeavor is a dollar less they will get in the regional rate reset with the other DCI carriers. Once those contracts are reset, they can fix Endeavor, so the next few years are status quo.

There will be enough lifers to staff the 81 CRJ900's. The 200's will be staffed by however many pilots remain after that.