Interesting take on Song

[LearLove]

Song is Wrong....IMHO

I think song is a wrong move for Delta. In times like these you need to "stick to nitting" as that British Virgin Airline guys says. I'd rather see Delta field a plan of cost cutting, sticking to core service and (yes I knoe some hate to hear this) keep Comair and ASA on the move, i.e ewpanding like mad. I thought Delta had it right before 911 and this year with the pre 911 plan of from "Everywhere to Anywhere"

Second - We've seen this before (as has already been said many times) with Metrojet and Cal lite ect....
It just doesn't work work the majors, their cost structure just wont support it. O wait on another note...I know how deltas cost structure will support it, they'll just shift profits from Comair and ASA to Song to make it look good. Or in other words Comair and ASA will make up for songs (expected) loss.

Not that my opinion matters or that management even cares what us pilots think but I just get this feeling that Song isn't going to work and am supprised that the respected boyz running Delta would make decision like this or let a consulting group (which I read is what came up with the song plan) lead them down this road.

As a side note this could end up helping U as delta is one of our biggest competetors here in the east. If Delta adopted a similar stragety as U has they could really crush us here, but now with the song distraction.....

 

[General Lee]

Kwijybo,

Man, you really do take things seriously. I don't personally have anything against you or your pilots over there at Jetblue, I am just saying that I think Delta is going after the competition (ie Jetblue) with the creation of Song. That is what they have been saying. Don't take it personally. Jetblue has been taking swipes at us---like naming the newest A320 "Song Sung Blue." You don't see me crying foul---I thought it was funny. I don't know about you, but I think if an airline suddenly puts 36 757's on the same routes that you fly (over a 6 month period), you might lose some passengers and maybe your HUGE growth pattern might be stunted a bit. Do you think I'm wrong? I am impressed with Jetblue and it's clever marketing ploys, and I think Delta is going to try to copy it with Song. This is the part when you are supposed to say, "But wait, you guys will cost more than us..." Well, only the pilots will be paid more, which means that everyone else will be paid LCC style wages. If you think an extra $100 a flight (for both crew members on a 3 hour flight---compared to them taking a 20% paycut) will make a big difference ---you're wrong. There will be an extra 80 seats compared to a 737-200, and one less flight attendant than normal. The 757's burn about the same gas as a 737-200, but carry 199 seats instead of 119 on Express. And, we are hedged thoughout the rest of the year in fuel, which helps. So, what I am trying to say is that I think we have a good chance of doing well against you.

LearLove,

I think you need to call up Leo Mullin and tell him he is making a huge mistake. Obviously you have thought this out a lot better than any Delta exec, and the whole McKinsey Consulting firm.
Give me a break. And you think we should just expand ASA/Comair, and let them fly passengers up and down the East Coast (yes, I do know they already fly from LGA and DCA to JAX, FLL etc.) against Jetblue? We would lose all the folks quickly after they were stuffed into that RJ for more than 3 hours. Jetblue has TV's and a wider cabin. Our Song 757's will have new seats with more room (33" more space I think they said?), with TV's, Email, and Song lists. RJ's are cramped---try sitting next to a heavyset person on one---and are a lot slower than 757's. The reason we are starting Song is to take back some of the people that Jetblue has taken from us. Don't get me wrong, I do like RJ's and think they provide great feed opportunities and good point to point service on cities pairs not big enough to support our jets---like LGA--BNA etc. But the East Coast Corridor from NYC to Florida and BOS to Florida etc--is too big a market. I have heard that if Song catches on like Leo thinks it will, the total 757 number will grow to 60. Lime green 757's will be on both coasts hopefully.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[LearLove]

Gen Lee Said:

"Give me a break. And you think we should just expand ASA/Comair, and let them fly passengers up and down the East Coast (yes, I do know they already fly from LGA and DCA to JAX, FLL etc.) against Jetblue? "

No that is not what I said. I ment keep expanding these guys for flying from med to small cities into Deltas hubs/focus cities. This will allow for a streamlined efficient hub and spoke system with low costs. As for the FL service run your service w/ mainline 757 against JB but now your overall costs are down and you can compete price/CSM wise. However even with this said Its just my own opinion (see IMHO in the first post) and above all no matter how much you Gen Lee slander anyone who has a different opinion than yourself on this matter ONLY TIME WILL TELL who has the more accurate guess.

Just one question though:

What makes Song any different (besides TV's and 757's ect..) from the other low cost carriers w/in a major that have failed?

O, BTW, I just got off the phone w/ Leo he says to tell you to "take the broome stick out of your a$$".

 

[Race Pilot]

Song Sung Blue

Jetblue has been taking swipes at us---like naming the newest A320 "Song Sung Blue."

Just to set it straight, JetBlue runs a "name the plane" contest in which employees are allowed to send in names and the big guys pick the ones they like. As most folks know, all of our planes, except one, have the word "blue" in the name. Some are in Spanish but all are "blue". "Song Sung Blue" was chosen in a contest months ago and was to be used on an airplane to be delivered in the future. The top brass just decided after hearing rumors of the new Delta spinoff name that it would be fun to bring it out early. So it's not really a "swipe" at Song, just some good natured fun. Which is what's great about JetBlue, we just have a good time and provide the customers with a professional yet more humane way to travel. This little rivalry, if you want to use that term, will be a lot of fun over the next several months. I'm sure Song will probably even start serving lime green chips in the back. I wish us both great success!

 

[General Lee]

Racepilot,

Good rivalry is fun, and lime green chips would be interesting. I am glad that you enjoy your job, just as I do. That A320 really does seem like a nice plane to fly, and I jumpsat in many prior to 9-11. I am sure you will enjoy it.

Learlove,

Ok, let me get it straight this time. I think you said you wanted ASA/Comair to expand more to medium sized cities, and allow the 757's to fly to FL? Well, ok. The RJ's currently serve quite a few cities from CVG, DFW, LGA, SLC and ATL, medium, big, and small. But, you want them to do more of them? How about we just get rid of all of the MD88's, 737-200's, and 737-800's? All of the medium sized cities, close and far, will now be served by only RJ's---50 and 70 seaters. I can see it now, people flying 3 hours in a cramped RJ, not being able to use their Lap tops, being squished by Jared next to them, trying to get some sleep or preparing for a meeting. Maybe they should furlough some more "high priced pilots" In the end, we'll have 1000 RJ's and 10 777's. Wrong.
We are putting RJ's in areas that can bring in good feed for our mainline planes. Comair just added Erie, Binghamton, and Atlantic City, forexample---which will really hurt USAir and others.
That is really what RJ's are good for---exploring new routes and identifying cities that bigger mainline jet should eventually go to if loads are good enough. And how is Song different from metrojet and Callite you ask? Well, these planes are more efficient than old 737-200's. We are actually doing marketing to sell the idea of Song. We have a heck of a lot more money than USAir or CAL. We have very few unions to get in the way (except us . We will increase utilization--to 13.2 hours a day and 50 min turns. We will have the entertainment like Jetblue, but offer more. We have better frequent flyer options for customers than Metrojet or Callite----it's called the SKYTEAM. Do you want me to go on?
TIME WILL TELL, ummmm yeah.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Intruder One]

Boys,Boys,Boys.........you ought to know by now that any sort of attack on JB is going to start the flame,that is a touchy bunch of pilots.You have to remember allot of them hired early on are low time so they think they are Gods chosen few.Just remember in the future JB is perfect,everyone is happy and management never makes any mistakes.The sun always rises and sets on them and since the begginning of aviation they are the only airline to do everything better than everyone else.Shoot,I don't understand why the CEO's at the other carries don't just pack it in, their done for with JB in town.

 

[Ty Webb]

Spoken like a True Idiot.

JB guys that I have met are just as experienced as anyone else, and maybe more so than the average newhires at most majors, due to the quick upgrade time. Hell, at AirTran right now we are turning down furloughed UAL, AMR and USAirways pilots that don't meet OUR minimums, so maybe you should try to listen up on the frequency before keying your mike, huh?

Additionally, if you want to be taken seriously around here, maybe you ought to take the time to fill our your profile, so we can have some idea of where you are coming from when you just show up here and start insulting the experience level of your fellow pilots.

 

[Intruder One]

No Mr. Webb you are the idiot...........you do not work at JB so how could you be so correct on your info.Friends that I know that work at JB say that early on low time people were hired,2000 to 3000 hr pilots,I'm sorry but thats low time especially in the left seat of a Airbus.Of course thats not the case now with what is on the street.Funny that was the only part of my post that you mentioned, I must have hit a nerve.

 

[FL000]

www.flysong.com

 

[Ty Webb]

Sorry, but I'm going with Murphy here.

"Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference".