Rumours during training:
1. Look for the company to approach union to allow a bid to encompass up to two years, ie.. award during advance entitlement will be good for up to two years possibly longer, but plan is to move all the pieces continously over the next five years, so it will be awhile before we see the final results.
--Guys, the concession on how we will be bidding and training for everything to come has been made or is about to. Good luck.
2. Dependant on the above, could see up to 1200 positions up for bid right after SOC. followed by another large bid during the summer
3. 15 DC9s coming into Atlanta--this one might not happen
4. A group is in negotiations/familiarizations with a 100seat supplier
--This topic has obviously been broached many times. After doing a little more digging, there is a huge gap in seats 76-148 roughly) that needs to be filled outta LGA with the new slots and in several areas in ATL. The decision has already been made as to the direction the company will take to meet this need. There will be a new aircraft if not 2 to address this need. How this will be implemented is interesting, but it has to happen. First, the union is already in talks with the company on this. Make no mistake, this is being discussed and every Delta pilot needs to make sure he /she understands scope as it currently is and how he/she wants it to go. Second, if you don't want to see another degradation of our flying to contract carriers you had better start making it known.
5. up to 15 777s to be delivered in next 2 years
--This number appears to be changing on the fourth floor regularly. It goes up and down. Not all of them are previous options and as mentioned by others, there are some other operators we are talking too. The 747 will not be here for long.
6. A fleet of up to 60 MD90s
7. New basing methods(virtual) are being looked at (cost/benefit analysis)
8. New base will be opened
--Yes a new base will be announced shortly. And following that it may not be the last announced. We are also going to hear what the plans are with several of the other current bases around the same time. This will be announced supposedly regradless of when SOC is, delayed till spring or not is still up in the air on that. The current fleet setup and cities is going to be changed dramatically by 2015. Just like the PIT-CDG flying, we are going to start seeing alot more of this. The biggest reason we have not furloughed is because the required number of pilots will go up in 2 years and not because of retirements.
--Like many of you I hope this stuff holds true and happens. The union & company talks on a midsize mainline plane scares me though. There are serious indicators that once again we will fold and allow them to raise the seat limit. At the same time there are indications that the company just wants to get it at mainline and be done with it as quickly as possible to start taking advantage of all those synergies. What ever those are.
This is all second hand.