DAL pilot

[Cliff]

fanman,

And being 24

I fly for fun,

Another one in the right seat of an CRJ working for free........

Step 1. You guys need to walk away from the slave labor deal you have until you get some real pay for the hardship and risk you take Daily...

Step 2. Fire ALPA!! They are a two headed snake who only work for the big boys- (which happen to be in the process of sticking it to you)....

You Delta guys need to stop trying to sh*t on the RJ types with the two headed ALPA coin you carry in your pocket...... You are on the street stay there... What gives you the right to fight against the RJ's one day, (with ALPA) then kick the Comair or ASA guys (also ALPA) out on the street because your out of work??? Suck it up and march like a man down to the unemployment office and get your check.. What you Delta guys need to be thinking about is how to change your work rules so you don't slash your companies throats.. No wonder SWA is kicking your as*es all over the US...

Yes I'm a member of a UNION....

 

[CRJFlyer]

Another one in the right seat of an CRJ working for free........


Not by choice...and not for free, well i guess 18K a year is about as free as you can get....I made as much flying a beech around...

 

[NYRANGERS]

NYRanger,
It is gonna be too bad if things between DAL and Comair remain this way...alot of good people will miss out, both us at Comair and even at Delta cause they may miss a chance to fly with some good guys...well, mostly me but, I'm trying to keep my head from getting stuck in the doorway...ha...well actually the FA's will miss the chance...oh that was a good one..I'll leave on that one..

It's all just a bitch fest. It sounds like you are good people and I hope to see you at Delta one day. You have the attitude to make it, I may be able to help, PM me sometime.

 

[NYRANGERS]

Another one in the right seat of an CRJ working for free........


Yes I'm a member of a UNION....

This still doesn't mean you are not an ALPA scab. Are you?

 

[Freight Dog]

If majority of rank-and-file CMR pilots believe their MEC is wrong, and that if it had gone to a vote that it would pass by a higher margin than the contract, they should contact Capt. Lawson and demand he changes that stance. I know if I was a Comair pilot, Capt. Lawson would get an earful.

Something to be said for Strength From Within

 

[cocknbull]

I'm not a Comair pilot and I'm not a Delta pilot however I was a flight instructor here in the Cincinnati area during the Comair. All I can say is we had a stack of Comair pilot resumes. Some instructors were pissed that we hired a few of them. They took flying away from us. The worsed part about it was is we only made about 15K a year. These guys got strike pay and were only doing it to kill time. Personally I welcomed some of the instructors. The only reason was that many of the instructors around here trained at crappy part 61 schools and they just flat out suck. The guys we hired were Comair academy guys and Embry-Riddle guys. They helped bring the level of instruction up ten full. Although this was good instructing was a last resort for them and they really screwed some of the young guys who were just trying to pay bills and get flight time. Everyone at Comair thinks that they are some self made company. The only reason Comair is not a Mesa or a Piedmont is because of the way Delta's management and Pilots treated you while you were still growing. Comair rode Delta's coat tail with little risk. The least your MEC can do is return the favor and help some of the Delta pilots out when they need them.

 

[cocknbull]

Opps I forgot the word "strike" after Comair.

 

[ACE]

Here we go Delta pilots whining again when they don't get there way.

 

[General Lee]

CRJ Flyer,

I know you want to have fun while flying, and that is good. I enjoyed flying in the regionals, even though some of the seven leg days were long. I enjoyed the people and the planes. But, then I went to Delta and three short years later I was flying in a BIG plane (767-300) that was a handful, and flying it over the beach and landing it in Bermuda. I am not trying to brag, but if you think you are having fun now, think about somewhere where you are actually paid very well to have fun flying to nice places. ( I know, I think you go to NAS from MCO---which is nice)
Do you want a chance to fly something like that? What you and the other Comair pilots need to do is raise a stink to your MEC.
I want to help my friends on furlough, and I think some of them would like to fly again, even if it is on the bottom of your list.

Broke in CVG,

You need to say something to your MEC, because if our MEC cannot get anywhere with him, how can we? It is obvious that your MEC would never want to fly FO on a Delta plane. That is dangerous for everyone at Comair who does. He is not thinking about YOUR interests, only the 100 top guys at Comair that are too proud to fly FO on an MD88---for more pay. Our MEC offered preferential hiring to COMAIR and ASA pilots when things turn around, and only ASA stepped up to the plate. When thing do turn around there will eventually be hiring and about half will be ASA guys/girls, and the other half will be Military and some other lucky regional guys. You need to say something to Lawson because he will not help pay your big mortgage in 10 years.

Cliff,

You are uninformed. The Delta furloughs would not kick RJ guys out on the street, they would go to the bottom of the list? Who would that hurt, especially if they are hiring 40-50 a month? They were offered something like preferential hiring to allow our guys to go to the BOTTOM? So, you want them to "suck it up" and march to the unemployment line? Well, they might do that for a while, but eventually they will pass your a$$ in their new Porsche. And, you want our guys to change some work rules. Hmmm. Sounds like Delta is in such dire straits----they still have enough money to buy $1.1 billion worth of new RJ's this year alone, and have $2.6 billion in cash, with another $2 Billion in equity to mortgage if they have too. What work rules do you want us to change? Fly more? Nope, not with guys out. Pay cut? How about management also, and Comair and ASA guys--just to keep it fair. What else Cliff?

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[100LL... Again!]

-------------------------------------
...but eventually they will pass your a$$ in their new Porsche.
-------------------------------------

And that, really, is how you know that they are superior to you. NOT only as pilots, but as human beings.

 

[CRJFlyer]

Gen. Lee,

I agree with the majority of your posts, although I'd go Americn made with a brand new Corvette (although most of the parts are made in Asia)

Raising a stink to the MEC would probably get the views changed so that maybe we could allow DAL pilots hiring at Comair..the only problem I would see is that they're are probably many more DAL guys furloughed than Comair would have room for...But then again its probably based more on the principle of allowing those guys aboard, than actually having you all come here..I suppose their probably wouldn't be that many who would voluntarily move down to the RJ...heck the unemployment pay has to be more than FO pay here first year...

But atleast the option would be alot nicer than getting the door slammed in your face like our MEC did...I only hope I could fly a '67, with multiple Flight Attendant options.

Unfortunately my 6 short months here leave me with little stink raising ability, and even less idea as to where to go to raise my stink, except under my sheets at night...(a good women always enjoys being tented in the middle of the night)...But if givin the right time or place I'd go to bat for you all.

 

[General Lee]

CRJ Flyer,

Well, I understand that your are junior and raising a stink may not help while on probation---so don't do anything risky. Maybe tell your friends that aren't on probation to maybe talk to your leadership. ASA has only hired 13 of our pilots (with 1015 on furlough)---but it was the thought that counts, and they were rewarded with an agreement on future hiring. That is better than nothing. I also understand your liking of the new Corvette--it does look nice. My fear is that the top 100 guys on your senority list are too proud to be FO's on MD88's and want more---more than what is possible at this time. Would you like to fly an MD88 or 737-800 someday with the good chance to move up to 757 or 767 later? If you would, tell a friend to talk to somebody. And, yes, on a 767 there are a lot of flt attendants---.

ACE,

Would you be whining if you were furloughed for no fault of your own (knowing you had a No Furlough Clause that somehow didn't apply here??) and some carrier owned by your own would not help you out when hiring 40-50 a month? It is stupid and you are jealous. The ASA pilots get some sort of preferential hiring when this is all over and you do not. Don't whine when you see the ASA guys you met in ATL or DFW waving down at you ( because of height---not ego) from a 767 in 5-6 years. Unless you are one of those top 100 guys who is ruining it for everyone else, then you will probably be retired at a golf course in Akron, OH. I don't remember whining while writing out a check each month during your strike. I wanted you to win, and it didn't happen. Now you can't help our guys/girls who were not making the "big bucks" at the time, and might want to fly at the BOTTOM of your list. There really is no excuse. And, the Porsche metophor I used was to show that the furloughed guys will eventually be back and probably able to afford one eventually. I am sure some Comair pilots could afford them too. It is all about priorities in life. Your MEC is trying to stand his ground for all of you, but look how he did during your strike. Guess what? He's not helping you this time either.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[AFELLOWAVIATOR]

I get the impression that you people are confused about what an MEC's duties are to the pilots they represent. They are not there to act as AIR INC. people. The MEC's duties have nothing to do with who my next employer would be if I chose to leave. They are responsible for representing the pilots as it pertains to there current job at our Airline.
This is why scope and list integration were brought up during the meeting. It was there "DUTY" to raise these concerns, because these are things that effect our careers and daily lives as Comair pilots.
I here all this talk about our BAD MEC, but if they did not attempt to make our careers better as Comair pilots, not as maybe, possibly, Delta pilots one day, but as Comair pilots, the ones they represent, then they would have slipped and then we would of had reason to be upset.

 

[Otto_Pilot]

Well said!

Good post Fellowaviator!

The line that crosses into a DFR (duty of fair-representation) lawsuit is a delicate one indeed.

Scope and job-security issues are what ALPA is all about.

Jobs is Job #1.

Just my opinion from the outside looking in (wishing I was on the inside looking out)

-Otto P.

 

[General Lee]

AFellowaviator,

I think you seem to miss the point. Delta pilots are frustrated that they helped Comair pilots in their time of need (their strike) and that they will not return the favor, a favor that would not affect them at all. You are right when you say that the MEC has the duty to help their pilots achieve the best lifestyle they can, while looking out for their jobs. Well, I don't remember the Comair MEC ever turning away the thousands of dollars other ALPA pilots were giving them during their strike. They took it and helped pay bills, eat, etc. Well, now our 1000+ pilots are out on the street and Comair is hiring 40-50 a month. Where would our guys go at Comair? The bottom. Seems fair to me, but not them.
ASA is allowing it, and Comair is not. IS this clear to you yet? When someone is in a time of need, hopefully people would step up to the plate. ASA did, even if it was for only a fraction of the pilots. Atleast they showed an effort. Sure, the Comair MEC isn't there to help them find a job after Comair, and so far he is ensuring that they probably won't go to Delta when things turn around. The ASA MEC, Bob Arnold, is ensuring that there will be movement at ASA when things turn around because their pilots will be getting interviews at Delta. That is a lot better than having no chance to interview. And who can they blame it on over there at Comair? Answer: Their MEC.

Bye Bye----General Lee

 

[Flash 7]

General Lee,

I fly for Comair and agree with most of what your saying. I do support the hiring of Delta pilots to our lists. Just because I myself have also been furloughed. And it would be a nice gesture from one fellow pilot to another.

I've been following the business aspect of commercial aviation since 1985 and I'm pretty up to date with it's entire history. One thing I will tell your for sure is Delta mainline will be smaller ten years from now. Look at the facts of the Industry. Look at what's going on in Congress. Airline losses are massive and real. There is absolutely no way Delta is going to lose money at the expense of scope. I don't care what the language is. Alpa had a chance to nip the RJ problem in the butt back in 91. They were short sighted in their views and now, well I don't have to tell you what happened. I would love to make 250K a year but I realize airlines are in business for customers and not for cushy pilot jobs.

The Business traveler, as we knew them from the late 90's are gone forever. Delta, along with other hub and spoke carriers have to change or they will die over time some sooner some later.

 

[AFELLOWAVIATOR]

General Lee, I like your name!

Your rersponse to my post was expected, but IMO did not lessen what I said. Our MEC is there to better OUR lives as Comair Pilots, period. Our MEC is not there to look out for the well being of another airlines Pilots. They entered the meeting with one thing in mind, the Comair pilots. All emotion aside, that was there DUTY.
If there actions upset you, so be it. They are not concerned about your feelings. There duty, by law if I might add, is to better the working conditions of the Comair pilots through what ever means made available to them.
We had plenty of our pilots get hired at Delta and when the hiring starts again, we will have plenty get hired there again. All these threats are meaningless. Just as meaningless as a preff. hiring proposal. Delta is riding the "single carrier" fence, and is not going to agree to a preff. hiring agreement between Delta and either Comair or ASA.
I am sorry any one is furloughed. My best buddy is close at Delta, and it would hurt me to see him furloughed, but I do not see my MEC as the ones who should be held accountable for the Delta pilots problems.

 

[acaTerry]

"Our MEC is there to better OUR lives as Comair Pilots, period. Our MEC is not there to look out for the well being of another airlines Pilots. They entered the meeting with one thing in mind, the Comair pilots. All emotion aside, that was there DUTY."

Oh, and this from the guy who SLAMMED ACA pilots for not stretching out our negotiations for the sake of CMR pilots. The shoe is on the other foot now isn't it?

 

[Freight Dog]

AFELLOWAVIATOR, if I may ask a question.... how is hiring furloughed ALPA brothers and sisters from the mainline detrimental to your career if they go straight to the bottom of your seniority list?

Attrition? You just nipped that one by saying that lots of pilots went to Delta when they were hiring, no difference here.

Politics? These people couldn't vote or alter anything for at least a year, and even then... how would an opinion differ from a Delta furloughee to a young 24 year old horndog CRJFlyer who aspires to fly 767 loaded with flight attendants? Furloughees are going there for sure, and CRJFlyer is going where there are more "options."
The bottom line is no difference.

Job protection? I truly believe that CMR and ASA need to merge in order for you guys to be heard or get a meaningful scope. Anything less, you get a current whipsaw, and that's bad for everyone involved. However, I don't see DALPA as your enemy in all this.

My .02 cents

 

[AFELLOWAVIATOR]

ACA TERRY,

What you refered to is a common practice in the Airline industry called "PATTERN BARGAINING". ACA did nothing to promote it.

What you said did absolutely nothing to lessen my point. My MEC's duty when they entered that meeting was to represent the Comair Pilots, period. It was, and never has been to secure future positions for us. That is the fact that you conviently over looked in your post.
If they did not bring up the things that they did, THEN we would of had some thing to be upset about.