COMAIR in Atlanta....

[Palerider957]

Bailout:

Yeah, the 700 trips suck right now. I've heard we (ATL pilots) will be flying through the DFW system and out to the West coast. I've talked to a few ATL guys who have already done it.

As for the fleet plan, that seems to change almost daily--who knows what will happen. I'm sure they will paint a dismal picture until our new contract is signed.

We'll have to wait and see.

 

[General Lee]

Pailrider957 and Captainv,

I have nothing against ASA pilots and the regular Comair pilots (leaving out Lawson and some of his cronies), and think the expansion is a good thing as long as mainline doesn't lose anymore airplanes. I understand that management is deciding which planes fit which routes, and that is good on the revenue side for Mother Delta. There are some things I question for the comfort of the passengers, like the longer 3 hour + flights in the CR7. I have heard stories of million milers in ONT refusing to fly on them to DFW and waiting for the DL 757 nonstop to ATL to connect onto their final destinations instead. I think those new flights from DFW to DTW and MSP are great, especially since we at mainline have not flown those routes and that they could bring more revenue to Delta when it needs it. That is exactly what I think the RJ's are good for---providing feed and new route exploration.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Palerider957]

General:

Yeah, 3+ hours is NO good in an RJ. I don't think they were designed with that in mind. Our trip to Monterrey is blocked for 3 hours, and think that's about the limit of passenger patience (even though the drinks are free).

Anything over 2 hours in an RJ seat is pushing the limit of pax sanity.

 

[rjcap]

Comair can come into Atlanta anytime, anyday and on any trip.

I just hope you guys aren't too disgusted with the ramp operation !

Gen Lee why don't you go piss in somebody else's sand box. You Delta guys have enough of your own problems.

 

[FlyingDawg]

I've heard rumors that CVG is painting EMB-135/145 parking marks at the C gates. Is this true?

 

[captainv]

long legs

Rjcap,

actually, the crappy ramp workers in ATL work in my favor. Most CMR pilots try to avoid ATL because of the problems on the ramp. Still, all the MCO guys will make the switch if we open a crew base there (much easier commute) but i'm hoping the FO's stay away. Sitting reserve from my house, it's too much to hope for.

and while the ramp slows y'all down, it's the tower at CVG that drives us nuts. coming back from IND we got a 20-mile final (to the south, of course) at 180 knots. almost doubled our actual flight time. we'll take some of your rampers if we can have some of your controllers too....

Gen. Lee, i'd do anything to avoid flying in the back of an RJ for more than an hour or so. and the jumpseat cuts off the circulation to the legs after that long. of course, at 6'5", there's not much out there that is comfortable. deadheading in the back of a 767 to ATL then to JAX, i could actually read the newspaper of the guy in front of me (over the seat) when he reclined at 10,000 feet. *sigh*

Captainv

 

[Palerider957]

Captain V

Uh, I don't think many of our rampers are allowed to leave the state without the permission of the parole board

 

[General Lee]

Captainv,

I agree, it is nicer to fly in the back of the mainline planes, but I was not saying we should scrap the RJ's. I think the RJ's have their purpose and they do great things for Delta. I think they are advanced and the are probably great airplanes to fly. I just think there is a comfort issue on the longer flights, especially over 3 hours. Passengers flying out of DFW may choose an AA MD80 over one of our RJ's to the West Coast because of the comfort factor. But, we have obviously seen that maybe we can't fill one of our mainline planes on those routes, so I guess an RJ that keeps some market share is better than no service.

RJCAP,

What? I was stating a fact, and you know it. If the economics aren't there, then fine. But as far as the comfort factor, I am right on. An MD-90 with a movie is better than a CR7 without. But, revenue is key.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[sleepy]

Why harbor any ill feeling toward any other pilot group (Comair, ACA, Skywest, Chit, or Comair)? There is nothing any of us in the DCI system can do about flying that we are getting or giving away. We are all just pilots trying to do our jobs. We have no control over this process. I can't imagine DCI management giving us any either.

 

[captainv]

long RJ flights

Gen Lee: "I agree, it is nicer to fly in the back of the mainline planes, but I was not saying we should scrap the RJ's"



Gen. Lee, whoa, man! reread my post, i was in 100% agreement with you. all i said was that when i'm riding in the back, i don't want to be on an RJ more than an hour. i never said (or implied, as far as I'm aware) that you want to scrap the RJs.

all i meant was, I'm freakishly tall, and there's not many airplanes out there where i can take sitting in coach for long. be it an RJ or a 777, but the RJ is definitely worse. now that we're on this, though, how do the seat dimensions comare between the RJ and mainline?

thankfully ATL-CVG is only 55 minutes, and that's on Mad Dogs and 737s. Up front, the RJ is quite comfy, although the new seats don't recline nearly as well as the old ones.

you've said some very nice things about the RJ and its role, and I appreciate it. i also appreciate your devotion to the furloughees (one who's a good friend of mine), if not always the solution...

Cheers,
Captainv