DAL/NWA Combination....should regional guys be worried?

[~~~^~~~]

I must have missed the part where he discussed parking MD-88s. Could you point to where Haustein mentions the MD-88s?

In this last conference call he simply makes references to capacity being pulled out of aircraft with low ownership costs. It is common knowledge that Delta got good lease rates on the 88's in bankruptcy and still owns some of them. If you don't believe General Lee's prolific posts on the subject I can try to find a link to a Company source.

Decreased utilization would result in fewer pilots needed to staff the lower block hour plan.

Delta has several plans going forward so they have flexibility to respond to the price of fuel and market conditions.

If you need a source, I will have to find, or transcribe, Anderson's State of the Company talk that was web cast.

 

[~~~^~~~]

The fact still remains that the DL seniority list has gone from 10500 pilots down to around 7000 now in large part because of the shift in flying to the regionals. DL now doesn't fly anything smaller than the MD-88. NW appears headed in the same direction. It's a huge issue for those in the bottom half of the seniority list and if we can't fix it now we probably never will. I don't really care about a temporary bump from an equity payout. I care about the next 25-30 years in this career.

Exactly! Thank goodness somebody gets it.

 

[Sedona16]

If you need a source, I will have to find, or transcribe, Anderson's State of the Company talk that was web cast.

Looks like it is no longer playing in theaters....

http://www2.multicastmedia.com/demos/Delta/TownHall1.html

 

[~~~^~~~]

Well, I think the 88 holds its own better than the DC-9's. Delta's managers have described a three, or four stage plan.
1 - Pull down RJ flying to contractual minimums (already done)
2 - Reschedule 88's (being done to some extent)
3 - Shift 88 flying to 70/76 seaters in some markets at some times (being done to some extent) and move the rest of the fleet down 737's on 757 Caribbean and SA turns, MD88's on some 757, etc... (pretty typical fleet re-org with declining pax demand)
4 - More of option #3

With high fuel prices, 100 passengers on a 76 seat jet (pricing out the excess) works better than 100 passengers on a 142 seat jet.

If anyone remembers anything diffrent let me know.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

Hub-to-Hub regional flying will be eliminated in a merger. This has the most negative effect on comair and pinnacle. I would not expect mem and cvg to be regional hubs in a merger as well.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Well that could be a DC-9, or an RJ. We all just assume it will be an RJ, but the lease payments have to made on the RJ and the DC-9 is paid for.

Delta has re-affirmed it's commitment to CVG in the press.

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

This all suggests more outsourcing - if ALPA lets it happen and we all know the history of the matter.

The answer is One List within a brand's flying - so the airline can operate which ever airplane is most efficient and pilots are not winners and losers based on management's aircraft purchase decisions.

It is time to restore this profession through unity.

Or you could be like this guy and his RJ defense coalition cronies and sue for Date of hire.....buuuut I digress....

 

[Occam's Razor]

Exactly! Thank goodness somebody gets it.

*Chortle*

"Get's it"?

EVERYBODY "get's it"! A few of us (Hint: You) seem to believe it comes free, like egg rolls at Wok & Roll...or that the price to be paid for it should be borne by somebody other than you.

The benefit has never been in dispute. The fact that you and your (previous) brothers were willing to do our flying for less has never been in dispute.

The dispute has always been about who should pay the tab for buying it from management.

Some of us believed the cost should be borne by all parties. Your comrades in the RJDC thought the mainline guys should bear the total cost in the interest of "unity".

Because of that, our greatest opportunity to achieve Brand Scope died at the hands of Danny Boy and his band of nitwit victims.

 

[sweptback]

With high fuel prices, 100 passengers on a 76 seat jet (pricing out the excess) works better than 100 passengers on a 142 seat jet.

Didn't Delta try this whole grand plan with the 50-seat RJ expansion? You know, the Reid theory of more frequency and higher yields by leaving the low-paying buckets off the fares.

Too bad that didn't work.

 

[FDJ2]

In this last conference call he simply makes references to capacity being pulled out of aircraft with low ownership costs.

O.K., so you are speculating that it might be the 88s. Fair enough, however, I'd point out that the only aircraft DAL is currently parking are CRJ100/200s, and the majority of routes that have been pulled down lately have been RJ routes. Expect more of the same.

 

[FmrFreightDog]

A few of us (Hint: You) seem to believe it comes free, like egg rolls at Wok & Roll...

Wait.... egg rolls are free at Wok & Roll????

 

[dtfl]

There is a reason why Delta buys SkyWest's fuel... Because Delta gets a better deal.

Delta's thought is that if SkyWest bought their own fuel, they would pay more, then market it up for a profit, then sell it to Delta.

Delta is tangled up in some deals it wished it did not have, but merging probably does not allow it to break these contracts with SkyWest (for example, others exist).

These deals put pressure on Delta's 50 seaters at Comair.

At the same time rumors are Republic Airlines holdings is standing at the door with a pile of cash in exchange for expanded codeshare.

Unity is within our control. Oil isn't.

So what is the reason we see RJs taxiing with both engines running, burning the HELL out of this free fuel?????!?!?!?!

 

[Occam's Razor]

Wait.... egg rolls are free at Wok & Roll????

Shhh! Only for mainline guys. You'll see. This is just another way the mainline guys keep the Airlink guys down!

 

[~~~^~~~]

So what is the reason we see RJs taxiing with both engines running, burning the HELL out of this free fuel?????!?!?!?!

Yes it is.

 

[NuGuy]

Because of that, our greatest opportunity to achieve Brand Scope died at the hands of Danny Boy and his band of nitwit victims.

Heyas Occam,

Yea, funny thing comimg from an ex-RJDCer who now uses a swingline for his Avatar. My, how fast the attitude changes when the shoe is on the other foot.

I'm not quite sure why the DAL guys have such a bug up their a$$ about the DC-9. Cheap to operate, and now with gas on the way lower, they will have more incentive to keep them flying. Instead, the DAL guys seem to want them to go away.

You would think the DAL guys would be rooting to keep EVERY LAST airframe on the "new" property. More DC-9s = Less RJs = More guys on property. Current DC-9 CA pay rates are > than anything FO at DAL up to and including the 767, so more airplanes = more captains = better pay for more pilots.

Dunno...maybe they've forgotten how to use the old VOR or can't quite remember how to figure that pesky old descent profile.

Anderson was a BIG proponent of operating the -9...he knows better that our illustrious friend here the benefits of keeping them.

Nu