CHQ, FREEDOM, and ASA pilots need to stick together on this!!

[~~~^~~~]

Mini:

Smart... You intend to fly off plan to try to make extra money while harming 73 other people, plus downline folks who just want to remain on schedule? Good judgement there - putting yourself first - Captain. Hope you mention your philosophy next time you interview.

I agree that this change in non rev benefits is not a good thing, for the very reason that it lowers morale amongst Delta's subcontractors' employees. What you do not realize at your profitable alter ego is that Delta is having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to continue operations with fuel approaching $3.00 a gallon.

Just think, how happy would you be if you took a 57% pay cut? When you board your Delta flight consider what those guys put up with and yet, they still are performing professionally. With 3,500 hours I would consider myself prety darned lucky to be flying your E170 in Delta colors and if this is the worst form of abuse you have to put up with, you are really fortunate.

Look for your alternatives:
(1) Your airline flies for multiple carriers
(2) You can JS for free and DAL has multiple JS
(3) Can't you fly on your own airline for free?
(4) If these passes are owed to you, get together with your pilot buddies and bring a breach of contract claim. (oh, or is it that these were never really yours to begin with?)

 

[737 Pylt]

Mini:

Smart... You intend to fly off plan to try to make extra money while harming 73 other people, plus downline folks who just want to remain on schedule? Good judgement there - putting yourself first - Captain. Hope you mention your philosophy next time you interview.

By the way, how happy would you be if you took a 57% pay cut? When you board your Delta flight consider what those guys put up with and yet, they still are performing professionally. With 3,500 hours I would consider myself prety darned lucky to be flying your E170 in Delta colors and if this is the worst form of abuse you have to put up with, you are really fortunate.

Look for your alternatives:
(1) Your airline flies for multiple carriers
(2) You can JS for free and DAL has multiple JS
(3) Can't you fly on your own airline for free?

Be careful fins, you're treading on thin ice. Before you know it, some of your former co workers on here will be calling you some of those "colorful metaphores" used to describe those evil delta pilots!
But with this guy, I'd say its not surprising! I wonder how he feels about having to pay to fly on the other legacy airlines that his compay whore's itself out to fly code for?

737

 

[PCL_128]

Mini:

Smart... You intend to fly off plan to try to make extra money while harming 73 other people, plus downline folks who just want to remain on schedule? Good judgement there - putting yourself first - Captain. Hope you mention your philosophy next time you interview.

I agree that this change in non rev benefits is not a good thing, for the very reason that it lowers morale amongst Delta's subcontractors' employees. What you do not realize at your profitable alter ego is that Delta is having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to continue operations with fuel approaching $3.00 a gallon.

Just think, how happy would you be if you took a 57% pay cut? When you board your Delta flight consider what those guys put up with and yet, they still are performing professionally. With 3,500 hours I would consider myself prety darned lucky to be flying your E170 in Delta colors and if this is the worst form of abuse you have to put up with, you are really fortunate.

Look for your alternatives:
(1) Your airline flies for multiple carriers
(2) You can JS for free and DAL has multiple JS
(3) Can't you fly on your own airline for free?
(4) If these passes are owed to you, get together with your pilot buddies and bring a breach of contract claim. (oh, or is it that these were never really yours to begin with?)

Who are you, and what did you do with the real Fins?

 

[DrewBlows]

Plenty of regional carriers have to pay to nonrev on their mainline partners. All of NWA's feeder carriers have to pay to nonrev on mainline Northwest. Does it suck? Of course, but it's not that unheard of.

Compass employees don't pay to fly on NWA (except in first class, but there are never any seats anyway). I can't speak for Mesaba or Pinnacle, but I think they have the same deal.

 

[PCL_128]

Compass employees don't pay to fly on NWA (except in first class, but there are never any seats anyway). I can't speak for Mesaba or Pinnacle, but I think they have the same deal.

True. It was changing just as I was leaving PCL. Until early last year, the only people that got free pass travel at the feeders were the guys with over 5 years of seniority. Everyone else had to pay.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Why is the rally cry around here seem to be, "everybody else has crappy benefits, so should you."

Delta used to have the best non-rev benefits in the industry until recently, and fortunately the DCI carriers were able to have those as well.

Now it seems that the company is once again turning to its employees to help the bottom line.

It's really sad what the industry is eroding to, and even more som how some of you can be ok with it.

 

[DrewBlows]

Dumb question here but does Delta mainline have to pay to ride on ASA, CHQ, & Freedom.(other than the $50/year) If so, what's the complaint? You're separate companies and you can't complain about getting a cheap ride on somebody else.

Delta and Comair don't pay to fly on any aircraft that says 'Delta' on the side (except the $50 already mentioned).

Charging DCI employees is just an easy way to attempt to make a few bucks on the backs of employees (what's new?). Delta, or any other American carrier save for SWA, don't have creative people at the helm. Instead of trying to figure out ways to create revenue (shorter turn times, more efficient baggage handling, working with the FAA for shorter taxi times/ more direct routes, etc.), they take more from the employees. Unfortunately bean counters don't account for losses in productivity when they take things away from employees. In their mind a "good" employee would continue to do the same quality of work as they did before the cuts. In the real world though, productivity decreases when compensation decreases. If I had to guess I'd say productivity decreases inversely exponentially when pay and/or benefits are decreased.

 

[buscap]

Every Delta employee or DCI employee has to pay $50 a year for passes. I guess I am paying for my jumpseat too...

Bye Bye--General Lee

Listen up.

Jumpseating falls way outside the nonrevenue travel arena.

Delta pilots are not being charged to jumpseat on ASA.

ASA pilots are being charged to jumpseat on Delta.

Not fair. Not the way it should be. We have always worked fairly with the Delta pilots. I would suggest you do what you can to address this with your jumpseat coordinator before feelings get hurt.

It's been bad enough putting up with Airtan's bullcrap all these years without retaliation, but then again, we never helped them out during a furlough.

 

[~~~^~~~]

I thought the alleged charge to an ASA pilot on a DL flight was a gate / software error having to do with the PPR number. If this is not the case, PM me and I will follow up. I need dates, places, flights, all the details possible. You are correct, there should be NO charge for the JS.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Who are you, and what did you do with the real Fins?

I always argued in favor of the profession and professionalism. Taking our woes out on passengers does not help our cause. We get paid to fly someone else's airplanes safely, efficiently, and by the rules. If we have a beef with management I'm all for meeting them at the Courthouse, or the picket line; but the front line of the battle will not be some poor passenger just trying to get home on a ticket they paid for.

The old one list & brand scope war, which I lost, would have solved these minor non rev issues.

Besides, AirTran is a tough competitor. I see your angle

 

[JoeMerchant]

I always argued in favor of the profession and professionalism. Taking your woes out on your passengers does not help our cause.

Operating by the book does work to effect change..... The PAX's are Delta passengers, not ASA passengers.... and they want cheap tickets and first class services..... They are part of the problem....

You seem very protective of Delta..... as am I of Skywest/ASA.... This is why ALPA will never unify under the current paradigm.....We are looking at all of these issues through our own vantage point.....

Delta employees don't pay to ride on us, but we have to pay to ride on them..... That is not fair, and neither your company, nor your MEC care.....

 

[~~~^~~~]

Joe - I care & most of our pilots care also. But after taking a 50+% pay cut, and also getting whacked with the same fee for pass renewal, they don't care as much as you do. Lets balance this out, for you a 50% cut would be in the neighborhood of $45,000 to $50,000 GULP!

I agree it is not fair and I don't even think it is smart - seeing as how $3.00 a gallon fuel and not much accountability makes keeping the troops happy just that much more financially relevant.

Just curious, how much does this new fee cost a commuter like you? How big a deal is this? By my calculations it less than our daily Starbucks allowance, am I way off?

 

[~~~^~~~]

Operating by the book does work to effect change..... The PAX's are Delta passengers, not ASA passengers.... and they want cheap tickets and first class services..... They are part of the problem....

So we get rid of all those pesky passengers? Can we let AirTran try this strategy first?

You are correct that in a fee for departure world under a bankruptcy proof contract, passengers are just a headache.

This disconnect is yet another of the myriad of reasons why airlines should not outsource flying. We should not be on separate teams, with separate goals.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Joe - I care & most of our pilots care also. But after taking a 50+% pay cut, and also getting whacked with the same fee for pass renewal, they don't care as much as you do. Lets balance this out, for you a 50% cut would be in the neighborhood of $45,000 to $50,000 GULP!

I agree it is not fair and I don't even think it is smart - seeing as how $3.00 a gallon fuel and not much accountability makes keeping the troops happy just that much more financially relevant.

Just curious, how much does this new fee cost a commuter like you? How big a deal is this? By my calculations it less than our daily Starbucks allowance, am I way off?

WHO took a 50% paycut? You haven't even been at Delta a year, you weren't there for the bk! As for your paycut going from ASA to Delta, you made the choice.

It's amazing how much you've changed. For one of the biggest RJDC supporters to become a double breasted jerk so fast, they must have some serious brainwashing going on over there.

 

[JoeMerchant]

Joe - I care & most of our pilots care also. But after taking a 50+% pay cut, and also getting whacked with the same fee for pass renewal, they don't care as much as you do. Lets balance this out, for you a 50% cut would be in the neighborhood of $45,000 to $50,000 GULP!

Most of your pilots probably don't even know, much less care..... As you pointed out, they are more concerned with their paycuts and loss of retirement..... The paycut at the mainline is a reason you won't see my application at any of the "legacy" carriers..... I'm not going to take a huge paycut....

Just curious, how much does this new fee cost a commuter like you? How big a deal is this? By my calculations it less than our daily Starbucks allowance, am I way off?

It doesn't matter my good friend.... It is the principle of the matter..... You don't have to pay to ride on my aircraft, but I have to pay to ride on your aircraft.... To continue your pay analogy.... How does it make sense that an ASA FO making 20K has to pay on Delta, while a Delta captain making 150K gets a free ride on ASA? It doesn't make sense and you would be singing a different tune if you were still living on the other side of the tracks.....