Airtran 717s to fly for Delta?

[Ty Webb]

Nice leadership...yikes.

Despite the fact that Holly Hegeman put it out (she is wrong ALL the time), I totally buy this rumor. I do not believe AT pilots will go with the planes. It will not happen overnight. I actually think Gen Lee is right on this one...slow migration of aircraft. SWA cannot handle 2 versions of the same aircraft much less a whole other airframe.

AT pilots...you are on the SWA seniority list. I do not think that will change. Don't get spun up over this.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner . . . . .

I don't think there is any question that with the delivery schedule, the 717 pilots will continue the transition to SWA, albeit it on the 737.

Btw, thanks to you, Texman and all the others who offer support. It is definitely appreciated.

 

[RedDogC130]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner . . . . .

I don't think there is any question that with the delivery schedule, the 717 pilots will continue the transition to SWA, albeit it on the 737.

Btw, thanks to you, Texman and all the others who offer support. It is definitely appreciated.

I agree, it will be a plane swap plain and simple. I do not think SWA would have gone through all the bs to get SLI stuff done just to have it go away with the plane swap. If this is true about the swap, it did not happen overnight, so this would have been going on for awhile.

TY, get back to me about my PM

 

[dicko]

This is completely false. Just checked chief pilot messages and nothing, nada. There may have been some watercooler talk from CP. But anyone who knows him knows he loves to float false info and see how long it takes to get back to him. Standard Air Force joke. Again, there is no official statement to this effect from our chief pilot's office. Move along, nothing to see here.

He does have a somewhat dark sense of humor; He bid SWA 737 FO as a joke. The bid stood for months and then he pulled it at the last minute and changed it to 717 CA.

 

[AFcitrus]

Don't get me wrong. He's a great guy and the best CP since I've been here. The levity that he puts into everything is great. Some people just don't know him very well and would likely mistake his sense of humor as a confirmation of this rumor.

 

[chris69]

My take:
-Maintainers are still postering and this may be meant for their ears.
-The people are more important than the planes. If this comes to fruition it will be a 1 for 1 swapdeal with Boeing/DAL/SWA.
-The "Tranformers" have a spot on our list and are SWA pilots just waiting for the ID.
-Shedding of employees is not SWA MO.
-All AT pilots I've met have been great guys and will fit in perfectly.
-From what I've heard at the GO/Trng Ctr SWA will have to figure out how to manage two A/C types; the 2nd one just may not be a B717.
-Fuel costs might be as much an issue as logistics on any B717 decision.

 

[scoreboardII]

Ding Ding! Winner, no better way to force a hand during negotiations than to threaten to pull the job out from under your feet.

 

[Pilot Knob]

I've been flinching for 8 years. Lil' flinchy....yeah.

 

[On Your Six]

I never thought any AT or SWA pilots would lose jobs over some sort of aircraft swap. SWA wants one type of plane, and DL needs a DC9 replacement. Sounds like a winner. I also never thought all 88 717s would or could come over in 1 day. I do believe this will eventually happen, and rumors all around Mecca are saying the MD88s and MD90s are all going to get glass cockpits to make it easier to MAYBE integrate the 717 into one category.


Godspeed!


The OYSter

 

[nwaf16dude]

Flew a trip with the LCA at Delta that is the project manager for the glass upgrades to the 88/90 and 75/76. He's been working on the program for about 5 years. His opinion was that we have a bout a 90% chance of getting the 88/90s upgraded, and about a 65% chance on the 75/76. He didn't really have anything to say about the 717.

 

[On Your Six]

Flew a trip with the LCA at Delta that is the project manager for the glass upgrades to the 88/90 and 75/76. He's been working on the program for about 5 years. His opinion was that we have a bout a 90% chance of getting the 88/90s upgraded, and about a 65% chance on the 75/76. He didn't really have anything to say about the 717.

Someone on another forum said some of our mecahnics have been in 717 school for about a month. No idea if that is true or not.


Godspeed!


The OYSter

 

[scoreboardII]

Thats just not believable because mechanics don't go to school for a month to learn about a plane thats been out for 10 years.

New Tech like a 787 or A380, sure, they go to school.

The 717 training would be more of a handout or brochure.

 

[dougdrvr]

Thats just not believable because mechanics don't go to school for a month to learn about a plane thats been out for 10 years.

New Tech like a 787 or A380, sure, they go to school.

The 717 training would be more of a handout or brochure.

I don't know about the mechanics, but from a cockpit standpoint, there are only three things that are the same from the DC-9. The nose wheel steering tiller, the boost pump switches, and the windshield. Everything else has changed. Even the control yokes are a different shape. How McD got a common type out of this is one for the ages.

 

[Britpilot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keUDMw4i2HY

 

[humveedriver]

I don't know about the mechanics, but from a cockpit standpoint, there are only three things that are the same from the DC-9. The nose wheel steering tiller, the boost pump switches, and the windshield. Everything else has changed. Even the control yokes are a different shape. How McD got a common type out of this is one for the ages.

Common type in name only. We did not have pilots who could fly the -9 and the 717 when both airplanes were on property. My license says DC-9, even though I have never flown a DC -9 -30. I'm assuming it's the same for the MD-80 series.

 

[scoreboardII]

What I'm saying is, mechanics are not typed to a jet, they are A&P's able to work any jet. Training is only for the benefit of the company to ensure the guys know the in's and outs.