Puff-
Do you believe that DAL is strong in its route structure in the Pac Rim? If yes, then I guess we won't agree on much relevant to that.
Yes, I do get things quite well actually. We have a difference of opinion, not a difference of intelligence. Your plight does seem to smell of that DAL pilot arrogance I spoke of previously when you assume I don't "get it" when in fact we just have different opinions.
I await your response...
No problem, now that you've toned down. When you present an attitude laced argument, and I retort it, and all you do is represent essentially the same attitude laced argument, what else am I to assume other than you don't get it. Water under the bridge now as far as I am concerned.
Yes, I believe that Delta is strong on it's PAC Rim stuff. Toyko is either THE most profitable or one fot eh most profitable routes in our system. No doubt NWA has an obvious stronghold though, and carries the mass while we do ours on a manner of efficiency. Hence their value to the transaction. They bring a wealth of value to the transaction as a matter of fact. We bring Europe, which is much like the Pac Rim stuff just in reverse. We also bring South America and Central America--we are talking mega growing profit centers of which NWA has next to no presence. That is our value, along with some other intangibles.
Short story long, not a mistype BTW, I consider this a merger of equals. Both sides' managements have publicly stated that they can go it alone, but both sides clearly want this merger. NWA is a slightly more sound financial company, but indeed have old airplanes, and "new airplanes" which are going to be put on the back burner till sometime in '09. Ours are coming this year, and will MORE than replace the pilot capacity needed with hulls we are parking.
That leaves us with us. The NWA guys like to think that Lee Moak has egg on his face from his "no merger without benefit to the Delta pilots statements". Indeed he does not. Our leadership, and ours alone have forced labor to be dealt with in a merger, and you only need to look back at AWA/AAA to see where they were not included. As I said, I have been in awe of the vision and leadership our chair has shown. All of their statements have been for one thing--gains for Delta pilots at every turn outside of section 6 negotiations. Their success can easily be measured by the rest of ALPA playing "catch-up" in their similar statements, and the NWA leadership taking its latest stance right out of the recent Delta MEC playbook-play with us or we kill it.
Additionally, our admin has taken heat, from a perceived "touchy-feely" relationship with our new CEO, within the ranks. Yet the strategy seems to be paying off. Only time will prove them right or wrong, but they have my full support--and I have never been able to say that in my tenure here at Delta. That in itself says a lot, which you would understand after meeting me for 5 minutes.
So there you have it. You have one side who came to the table with a plan for compromise, and another who came in ready to negotiate the best deal that they could. Then you had the side say, no this IS the compromise, and the other side say no, that is your starting position. You need to negotiate. No dice. Like the dog carrying a huge bone across the bridge, noticing another dog in the water with a big bone as well. The dog figures he can get both bones, goes for the other dogs bone, and drops his in the water-thus losing both bones.
One side is ready for compromise, one is not. Perhaps a little more time might be in order to let both sides think about it. Meanwhile, the economy will keep doing it's thing, and the powers-that-be will be doing theirs. I saw this on a ship that was headed to the gulf right before Gulf War take 2:
"Peace on earth to men of goodwill. Everyone else, stand-by."
I appreciate your opinion, and I do not agree with it. I did not appreciate you equivocating me defending my seniority to a position of arrogance. For it is not. I do love Ireland, and it's people. I hope to visit it from the left seat in the very near future.
