Don't know about DAL, but I've heard it often said that ASA has it in their contract to have a dedicated van (as in not to share). I have never, ever, seen an ASA crew ditch another airline crew. These days we are trying to give away resume's to every other airline around.
But, in defense of the one crew per van concept, it is frustrating when three airlines crews are climbing over each other to the back seat and usually one airline has a 15 minute later duty in, so they decide to make everyone 20 minutes late after they get their coffee. Also the odds of a Flight Attendant over sleeping seem to go up exponentially with each additional airline on the bus.
If the Hotel is paid for the transportation and the deal stipulates a van per crew, then they should provide the service they are paid to provide. Holding up one flight for a sleepy crew member is one thing, holding up every departure from the airport is another. With the pay and conditions now prevalent in our profession - some are deciding it is not worth it to be professionals, we have all seen them.
So, if someone does not wait for my crew I grab a cab and expense it. No big deal. I fly for a frugal carrier, so it seems like you guys on the Majors board could come up with cab fare and probably get it reimbursed even quicker than the average guy. After 15 minutes, my crew is riding - period. No sense getting angry an over something that costs less than $5 a person.
Do you really believe that ASA is going to pay extra for their crews to have a van for there own use??? Thanks I needed a good laugh!!