Delta may shrink

[Draginass]

Giving up other stuff in negotiations is burning the furniture. It's only a matter of time before you're out in the cold again.

Giving up scope is selling your soul. And once you sell your soul to the devils in the executive suites, they own you and you can't buy it back. They know that scope is the crown jewel in labor negotiations and they know they can scare, especially the "me-first" senior pilots, into throwing everyone junior to them under the bus for a few more years of personal gain.

 

[INIT REF]

Been under the bus twice, fully expect it to happen again. What really bugs me is the guys who have sucked on the swollen, engorged teat of lucrative pilot contracts for so long (hear me talking, senior DAL guys who were an engineer for a week, an FO for a month and CA forever, and love to tell me I'm 'paying my dues' after 22 yrs as a commercial pilot) continually sell out the junior guys so they can keep paying off 3 ex wives, two houses and a RV4. You know who I'm talking about. The guys who just can't wait to wake up in the morning and put on that snappy uniform.

Furloughs should be from the top down.

And it really pisses me off when people introduce themselves like "Hi, I'm Captain Max Dingus"
Did their parents really name them 'Captain'?
I've been in the left seat. I think I'd die from embarrassment, or bust out laughing, if I ever introduced myself as 'Captain'.

Rant over. Where's the damn Xanax?

 

[Frank Lorenzo]

Why, because there is no way that any management for any airline is going to do that. They will not roll over and just say OK.

That's exactly right. Management will not let you do or get anything we do not want.

You have no power. You do not have the power to do any work actions or go on strike. You are completely powerless. If you want something in negotiations, you always have to give up a lot more.

I am very encouraged by your writings. If every pilot on Delta property thinks the way you do, there is smooth sailing ahead for us management types.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Frank, with all due respect I think that the backbone of the current DAL pilots is a lot stronger than many give them credit for.
76 seaters are gone, but we should never waiver from that. I am fairly confident that we will not.

Management does not give a darn what we think. All they want to know is what our cost is so that they can account for it on the general ledger. We are like everything else in a business, a cost. The lower the cost the better. It means that they have breathing room for other things. We think we are worth more, many of them do to, but we have proved that we are willing to do what we do more often for a lot less. All of the current contracts prove this.
We will get some back, but it never will be where it was during C2K. The only way that would happen is through regulation, and then there will be a lot fewer pilots than there are today.
As they say be careful what you with for....

 

[JohnDoe]

76 seaters are gone, but we should never waiver from that. I am fairly confident that we will not.

Ahhh yes. The infamous "line in the sand" with regard to scope.

Where have I heard that before........??

Never, ever, underestimate your fellow pilot's willingness to sell you out for an increase in their _________ (fill in the blank).

 

[ACL65PILOT]

That was my point. From many discussions with those senior guys 100 seats just does not sit well with them not matter what the cost.

 

[General Lee]

That was my point. From many discussions with those senior guys 100 seats just does not sit well with them not matter what the cost.

Everyone freaked out when we decided to bring the limit from 70 to 76 seats. (I saw it as an opportunity to put some first class type seats in there for our best customers, without increasing the seat numbers too much). I highly doubt that anyone would go for 100 seats. NO WAY JOSE. The 76 seaters actually limit Delta even more, since they are only bringing in a bit more pax and revenue from those 1st class seats, but also take up more space, and mostly a full gate. That gate could also be filled by an MD88, which carries 73 more passengers while using that asset---the gate. Eventually people will figure out that high oil needs more pax to pay the bills, and even a 76 seater will have a tough time. But, they are better than 50 seaters, which should be gone soon.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[johnsonrod]

Everyone freaked out when we decided to bring the limit from 70 to 76 seats. (I saw it as an opportunity to put some first class type seats in there for our best customers, without increasing the seat numbers too much). I highly doubt that anyone would go for 100 seats. NO WAY JOSE. The 76 seaters actually limit Delta even more, since they are only bringing in a bit more pax and revenue from those 1st class seats, but also take up more space, and mostly a full gate. That gate could also be filled by an MD88, which carries 73 more passengers while using that asset---the gate. Eventually people will figure out that high oil needs more pax to pay the bills, and even a 76 seater will have a tough time. But, they are better than 50 seaters, which should be gone soon.


Bye Bye--General Lee

I agree. Once you lose the 100 seaters it's game over. You need to hold onto that flying. USAirways did it successfully with its E190s. Unfortunately it will only be a matter of time before many of the 50 seaters are gone at these oil prices.

P.S. Hey Netjets, please call me...

 

[xjhawk]

so anyways, if RJ's are so bad with fuel, why do they not order a bunch of those Q-400's? Those Canadians keep saying how good they are with fuel and how they have the same performance. MMMM, seems like a win win situation-except when they try to land, it seems they cannot figure out how to keep their gear up-or so the rumor goes.

 

[Choppy]

Would you be nervous as a newhire at Delta?