Delta AE is out

[ASA_DFW]

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you get a mandatory displacement. You do not want to be seat-locked in any aircraft. This is just the beginning of many things to come.

Everybody is all upset about getting off the widebody. I understand that but like ACL said seniority rules. My last captain was on the panel for 6 YEARS. He did not complain about it. It is what it is. Bid what you want and want what you bid. Don't chase an airplane because you do not want to go back to school. Don't chase an airplane because it pays less money. Ask yourself how much money per month are you going to lose? Is it worth the commute? What willl be your new quality of life? Ask your WIFE what would be good? Make a PRO/CON list.

You cannot look at your relative postition for FEB to make a decision on what aircraft to bid. Things will change. The NYC ER category WILL shrink. The A-330 is coming to NYC. There will be more people commuting ATL-JFK. They have not announced SEA yet. You might be 50 deep holding a line now but in 6 months that might change. You could be a bottom line holder or even worse stuck on RSV. The increase in pay will be negated by commuting costs.

My advice is to stay senior in an aircraft, avoid the commute and ride out the storm and see what happens.

Instead of bitching about everything, be happy you have a job. Ask the Alaska guys.

 

[PuffDriver]

BTW FIN the vent was not directed at you.
The 88 is a good jet, I liked it and will be happy to be on it versus the 9.

Plus the captains are hella-cool.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Yes, Puff I will come fly with you again!

 

[poor2thecore]

A question based purely off of curiosity, if SEA opens up as a base, what aircraft will go there? The ER? Seeing as both DL and NWA have a pretty big presence of 757s and 767s on a daily bases going to ATL, DTW, etc, etc, could this also mean a 767 category too?

Would they be essentially evening out the 330 and ER in both SEA and NYC?

Again, all speculation.

 

[dtfl]

I'll be getting bumped of the 767 domestic in ATL as well as a few 2001 hires.

Sorting through whether to be on rsv on the ER in ATL or a lineholder out of NYC and commute.


It will be interesting to see where the displaced 767 captains go to...

2001 hires?? If you take the 57 surpluses there may be some LATE 01 hires getting bumped....if you add in all the CAPT surpluses and assume they will flow down and bump FOs then that might happen...maybe i didnt look at the Cat list close enough

 

[ACL65PILOT]

There will be a few VD's to the ER, that will in turn cause some MD of the 07 and 08 hires, but I think most will not want to willingly add a freeze to their seat with all of the changes looming on the horizon.
I could be wrong, but I would not willingly take a freeze.
That is something that a lot of NWA folks will have. With all of the movement, many will be on A/C freezes when this thing opens up. Now of course with new bases at that is up for grabs.

 

[RedRum]

the really sad thing about this bid is you are diplacing guys out of their seats for a long, long time. By the time vacancies are posted to move people back up, we will be at SOC and many of the vacancies will be filled by NWA pilots.

Get ready to commute to MSP or DTW when you want to bid up to something bigger!

Oh the humanity!

How dare the NWA guys get a break!

Seriously though, the way things are going right now, General Moak and his stormtroopers are making sure bid period 5 won't happen prior to SOC so your coveted positions will be safe.

No worries...it will work out in your favor, because Delta pilots have a birth right to positions at our supposed crappy little company. My advice is if you hate to commute to MSP or DTW then DON'T. It's all about quality of life, right? Or is it greed?

 

[lookin4better]

Someone has a case of the Mondays!

Breathe in, breathe out..... ( repeat as needed )

 

[Sedona16]

To:
All Pilots
Date:
January 5, 2009
Re:
January 5, 2009 Advance Entitlement/Surplus Bid Posting Recap

The January, 2009 Advance Entitlement/Surplus bid is the continuation of our plan to fund the proposed 2009 Network block hour plan. The following are the key points for this bid:

• This Advance Entitlement/Surplus bid is the second of two bids to align our staffing based on the planned international growth that will continue into the summer of 2009 and the latest capacity reductions that were announced in December that are driving changes in the year-over-year staffing hours.

• The domestic 757/767 fleet has been reduced and the latest capacity reductions have the domestic 757/767 pilot block hours down approximately 14% year-over-year. This has resulted in surpluses on the ATL, LAX, and SLC 767 Captain and ATL and SLC First Officer positions.

• In addition, we are improving our staffing flexibility in LAX by reducing the number of LAX 767 positions and increasing the LAX 7ER positions. The planned flying for the LAX 7ER categories may include a mix of domestic and international flying.

• We have seen a very good improvement in our system credit percentages on the 73N as a result of the re-basing initiative we began last year. This reduction in hours, along with the capacity reductions, has led to higher staffing levels in some of the 73N categories and this is driving the surpluses on the ATL and SLC 73N Captain and ATL 73N First Officer positions.

• The vacancies in the following categories are being driven by the current staffing imbalances between the First Officers and Captains: NYC M88 Captain, ATL M88 First Officer, CVG M88 First Officer, SLC M88 First Officer, and NYC 73N First Officer.

• Keep in mind, even though surpluses may not be posted in your category, as the bid is processed contingency surpluses may be created in your category so you may want to update your AE, VD, and MD bid preferences.

• In accordance with Sections 22 D.10. and 22 F.16., this bid will be effective for 365 days.

• The projected training start from this bid will be February 2009 with all conversions being completed by January 2010.

• The next bid is planned for the summer of 2009.
We will continue to communicate any updates in the fleet and network plans as we continue to position ourselves for a successful future.

Best Regards,

Tim Hennie-Roed
GM Flight Ops Processes and Technology

 

[Sedona16]

Captain Steve Dickson

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Senior Vice President – Flight Operations Delta Air Lines, Inc.[/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]To: [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]All Pilots [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Date: [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]January 6, 2009 [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Re: [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Context of Capacity Reductions and Associated Impact on Staffing Levels [/FONT][/FONT]

I want to take a moment to provide you with some background and perspective on the capacity reductions announced in recent weeks which, in part, resulted in the Advance Entitlement/Surplus bid posted yesterday. This past fall we began seeing the global economy deteriorate into what is now considered to be a full-blown recession. Current projections assume this downturn will persist throughout 2009 and possibly beyond. Consequently, we are forecasting an 8-12% industry-wide revenue decline which has the potential to be one of the worst revenue environments in history, surpassed only by post-September 11th.

Although we are well-positioned strategically to deal with the economic uncertainty (with a non-fuel CASM at 6.85¢ and unrestricted liquidity around $6.7 billion), our network plan to reduce capacity 6-8% system wide (8-10% domestically, 3-5% internationally) is a proactive and appropriate response to current market and economic conditions. Rationalizing our domestic network to reflect demand and maintaining capacity discipline has resulted in a fleet realignment that will provide flexibility for our changing network, ensure supply meets passenger demand, and move us further toward profitability.​

While our network has been adjusted over the last few months, one of the challenges we face in Flight Operations is, "when do we shift pilots from one category to another in order to meet the changing demands of a very dynamic flight schedule?" Although we work very hard to systematically align our staffing with network requirements, we make measured and deliberate decisions in order to avoid "chasing the flying" which can create costly training churn. As has been the case for quite some time, the MD-88 category has been tightly staffed. Conversely, we have seen surpluses develop over the past several months in several categories, most notably on the domestic 767.​

After carefully considering all variables including the forecasted economic outlook, current fuel prices and the increased block hour requirements for the 2009 summer schedule on the MD-88, the tight staffing on the MD-88 fleet is no longer sustainable. With the 2009 schedule published in early December and a review of our systemwide staffing now completed, the difficult decision of posting this Advance Entitlement/Surplus bid had to be made. Remember that even though surpluses may not be posted in your category, as the bid is processed your category may experience contingency surpluses, so you should be sure to update your AE, VD and MD bid preferences. You may also wish to consider that [FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Context of Capacity Reductions and Associated Impact on Staffing Levels January 6, 2009 Page 2 [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Attachment B to the JCBA (the transition provisions applicable to pre-merger Delta pilots) provides for limited pay protection in the event of a Mandatory Displacement (MD). [/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]I know many of you may be asking how the decline in demand is affecting the flying schedule at Northwest. The short story is that although there will be some differences in timing and processes, taken as a whole the capacity pulldowns are generally of similar magnitude and character. The process at Northwest is different because they currently operate under a scheduling system which provides for a [/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]monthly [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]system bid (called an Advance Position Award, or APA) that continually adjusts to their network needs. For some perspective on this, we can look at a Northwest Flight Operations communication piece that accompanied their December APA. They stated with respect to the DC9 staffing forecast, "with the latest flying schedule, there is expected to be a significant increase in the DC9 flying in the spring leading up to a high summer schedule. This necessitates increased staffing in both positions. Due to the pulldown of the B757, the displacements off the B757 will help fund the incremental DC9 staffing requirements." [/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]A corresponding message on the B757 was "as per the latest flying schedule, there has been a shift in flying from the higher capacity narrowbody aircraft (B757) to the smaller capacity equipment (A320 and DC9) to optimally meet customer demand and account for the slowing economy. As a result, displacements off both seats of the 757 are needed to appropriately staff the A320 and DC9 fleets and reduce the surplus created on the 757 fleet." As you can see, our colleagues at Northwest are seeing a similar pattern of reductions in larger narrowbody domestic flying and increased flying in the smaller narrowbodies. Until the Northwest pilots are brought into DBMS, beginning in late 2009, they will continue to operate under their APA system. They have been adjusting their staffing in a similar manner over the last several months while the pre-merger Delta pilots are seeing our adjustment in one of two Advance Entitlement/Surplus bids which we typically only post on an as-needed basis and rarely more than a few times a year. [/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Nobody likes to see contraction—I certainly don’t—and over the long term our airline must grow to be successful and provide secure careers for all of us. However, with the current economic environment, we must remain very agile and continue to adjust our business model to stay ahead of our competitors and do what we can to maximize revenue while aggressively controlling the costs of running the business. Because of this discipline and the merger, we are better-positioned than any of our competitors and need to stay that way so we’re in a position to capitalize on opportunities that will be open to us when the economy turns around—hopefully sooner rather than later. Additionally, we will continue to work through the integration of our two airlines this year while maintaining our focus on safety and operational excellence. [/FONT][/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana,Verdana][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]Thank you for everything you do, every day, every flight, for our passengers, our company and each other.[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Verdana]​

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