You are speaking about crew rest. Duty rigs are generally referred to as 1 for 2, 1 for 3.5 ect... In that area Delta is at the top.
You also have to be very careful with rest rules. If you increase required rest you often decrease the value of rotations. A trip now flown as a 3 day with 3 duty periods worth 17 hours becomes a 3 day trip with two duty periods and a 30 hour layover now worth 11 hours. If you go back to 8 hours max flight time per day you lose all the high time turns the flight attendants love so much. Everything has a cause and effect. Delta flight attendants enjoy some of the best rotation construction in the industry. One last point on rest. A cap is the cornerstone of any contract. If DAL goes back to a 80 hour cap you will hear the screaming in Bombay from Atlanta.

 

Northwest and other airlines don't have a cap, some still do. Also, NWA F/A's are allowed to fly over 8hrs in a day...their scheduled duty day maximum is 13hrs.

Here is the thing, the CBA that NW currently works under was ratified during the time NWA was in BK.

NWA has the lowest base pay out of the "Big 9", with Delta coming in right behind it. So your F/A's are making the lowest pay, yet we are the "Premier Global Airline". Our top out pay is about 5-6/hr lower than indusrty "standard" and we aren't getting there! Not without a union!

So how do you feel about having the lowest paid Flight Attenadnts in the industry?

 

Why is it ok for pilots to be unionized and not f/a,s?
You all work at the same co. so why not support each other ?
Remember strength in numbers or is it the pilot number that really matter?

 

Hello Dynasty! Of course a union for pilots is good, but since this forum is on Airline Pilot Central I believe that the real question here isn't so much "is a flight attendant union good for flight attendants" but since this is Airline Pilot Central the question here should be...."Is a flight attendant union good for pilots?". Over a 25 year career at NWA and being a student of industry history I can see no good for pilots coming out of flight attendants having a union. This position has much justification which can be brought forth and debated on this thread in the future(I have to leave the computer for a hour or two) .... The flight attendants have every right to attempt to determine their future and status. I just think that the best pilots can do is stay out of it, especially since no good for us will come of a flight attendant union.

 

Where I work there are two sides of the union, the physical and clerical unions. Both sides hear and know about the other sides problems and has their own dog in the fight but we still work for the same management that will screw whoever they can whenever they can. Both contracts expire simutaniously. Everybody these days has the "hooray for me screw you attitude". It goes against the principles of unionization when both are working for the betterment of themselves to say screw the other side. Any thing else is purely egotistical.

You are both required crew.

 

DOH !schould have had more coffee before i posted that .

 

Can you provide a link to back that up? I found data online that suggests the opposite. However, some if it was dated.

Thanks

 

Airline comparison charts
Chart 27 shows F/A unit cost comparison. Just look at the bottom, you will see NWA and DL!

Also,
http://www.apfa.org/images/contract/...comparison.pdf

Its from 2006, but thats the actual latest document without me giving you the links to the individual airline CBA and you going thru them. Hope it answers your question.

 

You must have missed that first question that went out the 3 CEO's during the hearing.. "did any of you take a commercial flight here?"

It was estimated they each spent $20,000 to charter personal aircraft to get there. Not like the failings had to do with management or anything...



Dang.. no hysterically laughing smiley face

 

I know I am putting myself in the crosshairs for saying this ... but,

Chart 27 IS NOT necessarily a reflection of FA wages. It is FA wage cost PER unit mile. There could be many reasons why DAL and NWA end up on the bottom besides pay. It could be that NWA or DAL staffs each airplane with one less FA. Or perhaps the DAL FAs are younger, which would drive lower labor costs than say an airline with older FAs.

But I see your point. When compared to AA, DAL FAs wages are about 10 percent lower. Considering DAL just exited bankruptcy, this isn't exactly a bad thing! The chart is also from 2006. Didn't DAL FAs get an increase in pay with the merger DCC?

I guess a point I'd like to make sure ya'll know who you get in bed with. I read a NWA FA message that was sent out by their union about how DAL management had sent a questionaire to all FAs. And the union had painted that as such a bad thing. The unions are always trying to tell us that management is bad. I'm sure some are, and I know some have been in the past.

I just don't want to see our happy FAs become a bitter group because some union smuck is telling them that management sucks and that they deserve better.

-Fatty