Its Not All Rosey At Delta.... From the USA Today

[CAL EWR B737]

You know,

Slinging tomatoes at each other will prove nothing in the end. This deal will happen, or not happen, based on forces that are completely out of our control. Passing out buttons and posting on web boards will prove to be a futile effort that does nothing but erode the unity we need as pilots to achieve the best industry contract.

One thing is for certain if this deal goes through: the minute Doug Parker approaches the pilot groups about a combined contract is the minute Alpa should place UPS's or FEDEx's contract on the table. Certainly the profits that this combined entity would achieve warrants, at the very least, this type of compensation.

Here's my point: the sooner we can get over our airline egos, the sooner we will be able restore this profession to what it once was.

United we win, divided we fall.. Happy Thanksgiving.

Excellent post I agree 100% As a CAL pilot for almost twenty years I've seen CAL go from the lowest tier major to one of the better ones. In this business your on top one day on the bottom the next. Lets as profession and union brothers fight the common enemy management and bring our profession back to the levels of yesteryear.

 

[General Lee]

I'm just curious, why don't you want this deal to go through? Is it the stigma that comes with being "acquired?"

Seriously, I'm not trying to flame, I'm just curious why you think this deal is so bad.

As I see this, here are the facts that we know so far:

1) The Delta brand will be the surviving entity. Good for you, crappy for me.

2) Parker has said no furloughs. If you don't believe him, look at the AAA/HP merger and you will see there were no furloughs despite being significantly overstaffed. I should know, as I am on the very bottom of the HP list.

3) If this deal goes through, which there are certainly many hurdles, the revenue/profit potential is huge. This, intern, equates to greater stability should there ever be another terrorist event. As well, this also positions the surviving company on a level playing field when it comes to the forces of globalization/open skies/foreign ownership. Who would you rather be bought by: US Airways with a solid US management team, or Air France? Better yet, how about Emirates?

4) Instead of posting 50 to 100 million dollar quarterly profits, this airline (and this is my opinion) will be posting 500 to 700 million dollar quarterly profits. Which profit margin will yield a better contract?

Again, these are the positives, and certainly there are many negatives. However, given the current economic, socio economic, and political climates US airlines currently find themselves in, I think this deal is something worthy of consideration.

Severe route overlap, fleet complexity, and employee integration problems. They promised to work with the pilots from US and AWA, and management has yet to resolve anything. 600 pilots just picketed in PHL and PHX. Not a good place to be. Parker is more interested in his personal ambitions. Just because Citigroup writes Parker an $8 billion check, doesn't make it a good deal.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[jetfo]

All this negativity General. Just take your right seat and pull my gear when I call for it ;-)

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

You know what, I think Linecheck has some really great points especially the UPS/FedEX contract part.

Time will tell....

 

[linecheck]

Severe route overlap, fleet complexity, and employee integration problems. They promised to work with the pilots from US and AWA, and management has yet to resolve anything. 600 pilots just picketed in PHL and PHX. Not a good place to be. Parker is more interested in his personal ambitions. Just because Citigroup writes Parker an $8 billion check, doesn't make it a good deal.

Bye Bye--General Lee

General,

You're right that 600 pilots picketing is not a good thing when you're trying to create a new airline. I was there, and the display of resolve was impressive.

That said, if this deal goes through (which I believe it will in some way shape or form) the first thing we as Alpa members need to do is put our differences aside and work together to achieve a single combined contract that relfects UPS/Fedex's wages and work rules. Certainly, the revenue this combined airline will generate will give us the negotiating capital to achieve this.

Parker is a very strategic, well calculated CEO. He did his homework when he announced this, and in my view, knew exactly how the markets and the groups would react. Posting sweeping generalizations on Flightinfo is not going to stop this deal from happening..

 

[VeeOne]

Hey Grog:
BFD! Even ASA knows that their rampers suck! One of the biggest reasons I don't want this merger is because of tools like you! That, and the fact that your combined company 3 x's into BK think they can save the world. Save your own company first, like working on your pilot contract. I don't want to have to be dragged down to your company's wages!

737

USAirways wouldn't pull down your wage- it's already been stated that the highest payrate from each airline sector would carry foward to become the standard by which the entire labor force would be paid. That is per Doug Parker.

 

[General Lee]

USAirways wouldn't pull down your wage- it's already been stated that the highest payrate from each airline sector would carry foward to become the standard by which the entire labor force would be paid. That is per Doug Parker.

The Creditor committee will decide ultimately, and it is full of DL allies. Dalpa is the single largest unsecured creditor. Tell Doug Parker that please.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

General,

You're right that 600 pilots picketing is not a good thing when you're trying to create a new airline. I was there, and the display of resolve was impressive.

That said, if this deal goes through (which I believe it will in some way shape or form) the first thing we as Alpa members need to do is put our differences aside and work together to achieve a single combined contract that relfects UPS/Fedex's wages and work rules. Certainly, the revenue this combined airline will generate will give us the negotiating capital to achieve this.

Parker is a very strategic, well calculated CEO. He did his homework when he announced this, and in my view, knew exactly how the markets and the groups would react. Posting sweeping generalizations on Flightinfo is not going to stop this deal from happening..

You think it will go through in some shape or form? Huh? It either does or doesn't, and regardless of what Parker is telling you, it doesn't look good at this point. Most of the large creditors on the CC want DL to come out as a single carrier, and that is why those bondholders (30% of the voting) are getting nervous. They want a "say", primarily because the others aren't letting them speak at all.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[linecheck]

You think it will go through in some shape or form? Huh? It either does or doesn't, and regardless of what Parker is telling you, it doesn't look good at this point. Most of the large creditors on the CC want DL to come out as a single carrier, and that is why those bondholders (30% of the voting) are getting nervous. They want a "say", primarily because the others aren't letting them speak at all.

Bye Bye--General Lee

General,

As you probably know, business is not so black and white. When I said that this deal will go through in some way shape or form, I should have been more specific. My fault.

What I meant to convey is that Parker will most likely sell off certain assets in order to satisfy the regulators of the DOT and DOJ. To what extent Parker sells things off, (gates, routes, shuttle, etc) remains to be seen. We already know one of the shuttles will be sold to the highest bidder and we also know that LUV has stepped up to plate as a bidder. (Probably for gates in CLT and PHL.)

I don't think the creditors really care whether DAL emerges as a stand alone or not. They want one thing and one thing only: $$$$$$$. If DAL's business plan will generate more than 8.5 billion in returns, then I think it's got a shot.

I don't think Parker is getting desperate quite just yet. It has only been a week since the acquisition has been announced, and I expect major fireworks to begin in days to come. We're already starting to see that with the USAToday article.

It's all out of our control anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

 

[737 Pylt]

You know what, I think Linecheck has some really great points especially the UPS/FedEX contract part.

Time will tell....

At least we can agree on that!

737

 

[slaquer5]

You think it will go through in some shape or form? Huh? It either does or doesn't, and regardless of what Parker is telling you, it doesn't look good at this point. Most of the large creditors on the CC want DL to come out as a single carrier, and that is why those bondholders (30% of the voting) are getting nervous. They want a "say", primarily because the others aren't letting them speak at all.

Bye Bye--General Lee

Now thats called denial, you need help. please start taking your meds.

 

[vetrider]

As an AWA guy I hope this deal doesn't go through, just like General Lee. I also see alot of guys giving the General some grief that I think is undeserved. If you really read what he writes he gets it right more often than not, and if I were in his shoes I think I'd feel about the same as he does. I think this "deal" that Parker and co. are working on is just dirty and low down, to put it bluntly.

 

[General Lee]

Now thats called denial, you need help. please start taking your meds.

Denial? It's all right here in this article. You need to read it.


In conference calls yesteday with Deutsche Bank AG and Leman Brothers, bondholders were urged to band together to pressure Delta--which is under BK court protection--to fully consider the hostile bid from USAirways. The effort by both banks, which are Delta creditors, is aimed at creating a second group of crediotrs with some say in the airline's restructuring. Currently, the resturcturing ultimately must be approved by the official committee of unsecured creditors, which is dominated by much larger creditors."

"The outcome of the meetings wasn't immediately clear, and it remains to be seen how much leverage a splinter group could have in the takeover fight and it's strategy for exerting influence. The bondholders being pitched to combine forces represent 30% of the total $16 billion-18 billion claim that will eventually serve as the basis for dolling out equity in post BK Delta."

"The varied interests of individual creditors are likely to be a significant factor. Boeing Co., for example, is a long standing seller of aircraft to Delta, while USAirways is leaning towards Airbus. Other committee members include U.S. Bancorp, the PBGC, Coca Cola, and Fidelity." (also DALPA)

"The creation of an ad hoc creditor group in large BK cases isn't unusual, but some executives and employee groups have critisized such investors for their short term interests, rather than looking out for the longer range good of employees and companies trying to restructure."

"Delta CFO Ed Bastain said in an interview Friday that Delta believes it's plan to emerge as a stand alone company will prove superior to USAirways' offer, especially in light of the "transaction risks" inherent in a merger plan. A Delta spokewomen yesterday said Mr Bastian's comments still stood."


Those were things left out of the other blurbs. Buy a copy of today's WSJ and see for yourself. Again, you can find the article on page A3 under "Some Delta Bondholders Try to Form Splinter Group."

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[TWA Dude]

I'm looking at the AAA/HP merger and the one thing that really sticks out is that you haven't merged yet. So how could you furlough? Who is senior and who is junior?

This is no impediment to furloughs. If they needed to they'd just furlough from one side or both. Reference AA/TWA in 2001.

 

[Noserider76]

I'm just curious, why don't you want this deal to go through? Is it the stigma that comes with being "acquired?"

Seriously, I'm not trying to flame, I'm just curious why you think this deal is so bad.

No flame taken. It's a legit question. I've read the reasons you think it may be a good deal but I think the cons far outweigh the pros.

#1. I don't believe Parker when he says there will be no furloughs just because the US/HP merger hasn't resulted in furloughs so far. You both had a complimentary route structure. This deal results in an enormous amount of overlap. To achieve the "synergies" mentioned there will have to be job cuts. DL has been a historically non-union carrier. I think the path of least resistance for job cuts will be through the DL employee group.

#2. This is not the merger for DL. It doesn't offer DL much except competition elimination. A merger with a carrier strong in the Pacific would create a global powerhouse. It would also result in far fewer job cuts as there would be minimal overlap.

#3. The employees of DL have given huge concessions to give the company a chance at profitability. They should be the ones to profit from these concessions, not another airline's employees and management.

#4. It's been over 5 years of uncertainty in this industry. DL was going to come out of BK in the first half of the year. This deal dooms us to possibly a year longer in bankruptcy followed by more years of uncertainty while the mess is straightened out. You guys don't even have a combined list yet.

I agree that a larger carrier will be more shock resistant to global events and record bigger profits. Unfortunately, I think the profits from this takeover will be at the expense of many employee jobs.

No disrespect intended to you guys but I think the deal is so bad for all of us that we need to be prepared to do whatever it takes to stop it, up to and including a work stoppage.