Are you overlooking the fact that Comair's contract now binds Delta and ASA's binds SkyWest? I'm unsure what you think the Court(s) affirmed. ALPA national made the change in policy about two and a half years ago, which is one reason why ASA finally got a contract.
Actually, I stopped paying attention. To what exactly does Comair's contract bind Delta. I doubt very much, as I have heard rumblings of some furloughs. It's too bad, really, because those guys have really eaten some crow, justifiably, and that couldn't have tasted good. My guess is that they learned their lesson.
Seriously, you don't think Delta sold flying? If it is sold, how do you get it back? (you know I advocate getting it back by putting Compass on the list
No, it is not sold. It is contracted until further notice. It's right there in the contract. ANY flying with which Delta engages is subject to the PWA between Delta and it's pilots. How do we get it back? With patience. Seize the moment. Lie in waiting. That's what we have done with scope. Now look at what has happened with regard to 50 seaters? Compass certainly is an interesting proposition. Effectively, they are on the list. It is a bridge between us and them. They get to come this way, we get to go that way as necessary. How is that not security?
You may be right, but don't fuel prices likely negate the furlough protections? You are correct that the requirements to reconfigure the 76 seater has some teeth, but it only applies to those hired before the post 9/11/2001 group.
When more than 62% of Delta block hours are flown by non seniority list pilots I'm not sure that is "keeping a lid on it."
I know that you know this, but there simply is no protection from anything with fuel the way it is. You didn't experience this at ASA, but there really is little protection when your company is going out of business. The best furlough protection is to bite them in the a$$ if they choose to do it. The 6 six clause was a stroke of genius by whoever thought of it. The clueless will say, "Big deal, six seats." It's huge. That fleet is getting larger and larger, and will be very expensive to make non-profitable. 62% is not good. No doubt. I will agree that 62% is too much if you will agree that it is impossibly too risky for Delta to do ALL of its flying with the depth of our operation. What I meant by lid is that IMO, the scope water has stopped slopping over the edges of the tupperware bowl as we move along the bumpy road. The water on the ground has got to evaporate, you can't pick it up, and recycle it's way back to rain for us to catch again.
You stated this perfectly. You do know how ALPA's merger policy got subjective, with the removal of "operational integration" from the Constitution and Bylaws, right?
No, it is not. Subjective is saying that no pilot may get a windfall at the expense of another. It is subject to interpretation. Subjective is not saying that if a company buys another company who operates aircraft with 71+ seats, then they must be merged into our list. We will agree that merger policy is screwed up, just not how. There is no way that a 50K regional captain should be able to jump over into a 170K 767 job. ALPA merger policy allows that, and the Delta PWA catches that mistake.
To you agree that a symbol on a napkin does not operationally integrate an airline either. Or perhaps two airlines who fly the exact same equipment, are owned by Delta, feed the same cities--sometimes out of the same base might be a better example of operational integration. Two companies, one of which I might add also didn't have the foresight to exclude such a "trivial" discriminant from their section 1 language. The other pretty much having nothing at all worth having.
So you think we could unilaterally negotiate scope and simply force companies like Compass, Mesaba, or SkyWest off the property?
Compass, I am not sure. I have not looked at that language, or fully grasp how the MECs are intertwined. PLease do not think that I am opposed to working with another group. I think that Compass may present a good opportunity. I also think that non-wholly owneds will eventually go away. Skywest is making money, which is TAKING money from us and United. That cannot last, and will not last. Like it or not, you guys screwed up back then. A certain somebody said that they don't DO politics, which is unavoidable. Stupid on his part--not surprising. Humility, and a sense of how important you really are would have gone a long way back in the early 2000s. A chance was there to close the gap between us, and squandered by those who were too big for their britches. I have been there, the regional captain who has all of the answers. He don't, you don't, I don't. NOT realizing that interferes with clear thinking.
Let me ask you, you have got to be about a year old by now. What are some things that may have surprised you a bit regarding expectations vs reality?
