Delta Strike?

[General Lee]

Let me begin by saying you are one of the smart ones who has done everything right. I'm guessing most Delta pilot aren't in your boat. That being said studies have shown that a family that goes to a single income without curbing spending is usually bankrupt in two years. How long is your job search going to be? How quickly can you curtail spending? The rules of compound interest depend on you not touching principal... $50,000 spent while you are job hunting could seriously delay that 2 million.

3 Million comes from this... You and the wife could live for another 30 years. Assuming you start playing the investments safe with a 5% return you will be bringing in $150,000 a year. That should replace your current income. 30 years, Inflation, medical, loss of social security, loss of medicare/medicaid, coming tax increases... Don't forget about the plumet of the dollar that will come in our lifetime... Three million will put you in good shape to 90. With 2 million you need a 7% return to bring in $140,000... just tightens the margins.

I will say this about your college and graduate degrees. While some of you may have graduate degrees most of you don't. The college degrees you obtained in 1985 are obsolete. While some of you may find other gainful employment the vast majority will not. The corporate world is not falling over themselves for 40+ year old buisness majors who have been shooting ILS's for the last 20 years. Maybe your network of pilots will help you out... Oops they're in the same boat. You can read "Bait and Switch" for more on the topic. Age is not on your side.

If you think I'm full of crap go fire up the resume and go job hunting. Pilots have plenty of time to do this. See what you dig up. Talk to your "contacts" and see what they have available. You may be in good shape but I am willing to bet 50+% of Delta pilots aren't.
So again. Will it be the paycut or scope... You have to cave on one.

I disagree. We have had 47% pay cuts, and SCOPE is just as important. We don't HAVE TO choose one. Nope. We will allow some more 70 seaters, and that is about it. The current temporary 14% pay cut may stick too, but even the company has offered modest snap backs. And, the NW pilots chose to try to save their pensions, where we don't have illusions like that. That is the difference. And, there will be no exit financing without a pilot deal.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[CALnTX]

Hey GL

Do you think mangement is really posturing and inflating the truth finacially just to attract a buyer or is the sh*t really about to hit the fan? Seems like they have made some rather grave statements recently.

 

[General Lee]

Hey GL

Do you think mangement is really posturing and inflating the truth finacially just to attract a buyer or is the sh*t really about to hit the fan? Seems like they have made some rather grave statements recently.

Well, they are testifying to the arbitrator panel, and they probably wouldn't paint a great picture if it meant saving more money per year by dropping the contract. Here is recent (March 15th) testimony about current cash levels:


Bastian: Well, one major difference, as I
mentioned, is that we did close the year out roughly
$400 million in a better cash position than we had
anticipated in 2005. But that -- you know, most of
the other changes are relatively similar.


Q This morning you said that you were doing
better in January and February of '06. Do you
recall that?

A We were doing a bit better, yes.

Q Could you define the "bit" for us?

A Sure. We ended January about $25 million
in profits better than plan, and February we haven't
announced our results yet, so I'm not sure I'm free
to talk about February.




And then here is what the Airtran exec said about our problems:

Executives of Delta Air Lines (DALRQ:OTC BB) may be painting a gloomy scenario of their finances at an arbitration hearing, but the airline's strong asset base virtually assures its survival, according to a top executive at AirTran Holdings (AAI:NYSE) .

"Delta has a tremendous asset base, tremendous assets and routes," said Arne Haak, AirTran's treasurer and vice president of finance, at a Citigroup investment conference Wednesday. "It's probably unlikely that anybody goes away."


So, from that, you can probably draw your own conclusions.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[800Dog]

Let me begin by saying you are one of the smart ones who has done everything right. I'm guessing most Delta pilot aren't in your boat. That being said studies have shown that a family that goes to a single income without curbing spending is usually bankrupt in two years. How long is your job search going to be? How quickly can you curtail spending? The rules of compound interest depend on you not touching principal... $50,000 spent while you are job hunting could seriously delay that 2 million.

3 Million comes from this... You and the wife could live for another 30 years. Assuming you start playing the investments safe with a 5% return you will be bringing in $150,000 a year. That should replace your current income. 30 years, Inflation, medical, loss of social security, loss of medicare/medicaid, coming tax increases... Don't forget about the plumet of the dollar that will come in our lifetime... Three million will put you in good shape to 90. With 2 million you need a 7% return to bring in $140,000... just tightens the margins.

I will say this about your college and graduate degrees. While some of you may have graduate degrees most of you don't. The college degrees you obtained in 1985 are obsolete. While some of you may find other gainful employment the vast majority will not. The corporate world is not falling over themselves for 40+ year old buisness majors who have been shooting ILS's for the last 20 years. Maybe your network of pilots will help you out... Oops they're in the same boat. You can read "Bait and Switch" for more on the topic. Age is not on your side.

If you think I'm full of crap go fire up the resume and go job hunting. Pilots have plenty of time to do this. See what you dig up. Talk to your "contacts" and see what they have available. You may be in good shape but I am willing to bet 50+% of Delta pilots aren't.
So again. Will it be the paycut or scope... You have to cave on one.

In my early 30s and my degree is anything but obsolete. Father is a CFP and I am well aware of what I will need for retirement. I will not retire at age 60 if I start a new career. More like 65. As for the decline in the dollar, I am heavy into gold and precious metals. Thanks for your concern.

 

[737 Pylt]

As for the decline in the dollar, I am heavy into gold and precious metals. Thanks for your concern.

Very smart....I'm right there with ya!
737

 

[pgcfii2002]

How can Delta pilots legally strike if their contract is voided??

 

[800Dog]

How can Delta pilots legally strike if their contract is voided??

Very easily. Grab signs and walk. Norris/Laguardia? America?

 

[Buckaroo]

Very easily. Grab signs and walk. Norris/Laguardia? America?

Yeah, and that strike will last all of 5 seconds, because as soon as you guys strike, the company shuts down.

After that, there can be no strike, because there would no longer be a company to strike against.

Delta - what a bunch of morons. You guys are the laughing stock of the industry!!

 

[PowerRanger]

Yeah, and that strike will last all of 5 seconds, because as soon as you guys strike, the company shuts down.

After that, there can be no strike, because there would no longer be a company to strike against.

Delta - what a bunch of morons. You guys are the laughing stock of the industry!!

LOL...The company is not gonna shut down/liquidate 60 mins after a strike is anounced. And DL is not the laughing stock of the industry if anything they have a lot of pilot groups out there cheering for them hoping there actions can bring about some sort of change.

If the DL pilots do strike and the company does liquidate I'm sure it would give pause to any other airline that thought their pilot base is weak and might set some sort of precident industry wide that enough is enough the line is drawn in the sand. After that maybe, *maybe* the industry might began to improve!

 

[9rj9]

Exec: Delta Won't Lower Pilot Concessions
Thursday March 16, 5:54 pm ET
By Harry R. Weber, AP Business Writer Delta CFO Tells AP That Airline Won't Lower Amount of Concessions It's Seeking From Pilots


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. won't lower the amount of concessions it is seeking from its pilots any further, but would be willing to discuss concerns pilots have about the possible termination of their defined benefit pension plan, the carrier's chief financial officer said in an interview Thursday.

CFO Edward Bastian, following the fourth day of two weeks of hearings before an arbitration panel that will decide whether to allow the company to throw out its pilot contract, made the most definitive statement to date about what Delta is willing to accept and what it isn't.
The comments came even as the chairman of the union's executive committee, Lee Moak, said in a separate interview with The ***************ociated Press that anyone who doubts the pilots' resolve to strike if their contract is voided is mistaken.

The "$305 million is non-negotiable because that's what our minimum needs are to survive as a company," Bastian told AP. Regarding the pilots' pension and other changes "those are things to be discussed in the room. There is no magic number," Bastian said.

The nation's third-largest carrier had requested $325 million in pay and benefit cuts, but agreed to reduce the amount if the pilots reach a consensual agreement.
Pressed on whether his position could lead to a strike that would doom the Atlanta-based airline, Bastian said, "It's a serious situation. I don't want to downplay the significance of this."
But he added, "I strongly believe Delta will be here 30 days from now. It's on the back of everyone's mind obviously, but the reality is I believe we will figure this thing out."
The arbitration panel must decide on Delta's motion to reject its pilot contract by April 15.
The company and union have not had any negotiation sessions since the hearings in Washington began on Monday. While both sides say they are willing to meet, no sessions have been scheduled. Top union and company officials have been staying in the same hotel.
"It takes two parties," Bastian said. "We're here and they know where we're at."
Moak, in an interview, said the company should take the union's stance seriously and be more open to negotiations on all terms being discussed.
"If management's action is to destroy the airline, I can't control them," Moak said.
He said he hopes and believes cooler heads will prevail but he said whether that happens is up to the company.
"I look at it unemotionally," Moak said. "Whatever action they take, we are going to respond appropriately."
He reiterated the union will strike if its contract is rejected. Asked if Delta will ultimately go out of business, Moak said he still is encouraging people to book flights and stick with the airline.
But he also said the pilots won't back down in the fight over their pay, benefits and pensions.
"All I know for sure, with 100 percent certainty, is our actions are very predictable," Moak said. "We will respond appropriately and decisively."
The pilots have offered a second round of long-term cuts, but disagree on the amount Delta says it needs. The pilots previously gave Delta $1 billion in annual concessions in a five-year deal in 2004, and they believe they should receive some credit for the savings they say the company will reap if it terminates the pilots' defined benefit pension plan.
The airline, which filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in New York in September, had asked the bankruptcy court in November to void the pilot contract. Shortly before a judge was set to issue a decision, the company and its pilots reached a deal on interim pay cuts.
That deal, equal to a little less than half of what the company is seeking on an annual basis, would be replaced by the long-term deal the two sides have been negotiating since December. They missed a March 1 deadline to settle on their own, sending the matter to arbitration.
In the latest negotiating proposals, the company has agreed to reduce its request to $305 million in cuts annually, while the union said it is offering $140 million annually.
Delta has lost roughly $12.6 billion since January 2001.
Bastian said Delta needs the cost cuts it is seeking to compete effectively with rivals and survive long-term.
"What we need to survive as a company we can't compromise on, and it would be irresponsible to compromise on," he said.
While he believes the situation will ultimately be worked out without a strike, he acknowledged there are some barriers to that happening.
"I can understand the anger and the frustration, but the reality is we have to put the emotions aside and look forward to the future," Bastian said.
Also Thursday, Delta said it is delaying the filing of its annual report by up to 15 days. It told the Securities and Exchange Commission it needs extra time because of its bankruptcy filing.