Leo's thoughs on one list at Delta

[WIDGETBOY]

. He said he would not bring ASA and Com Air into the "Delta Family" because we need the cost advantage to make them high yield.

This came off the DALPA message board from a captain who attended an "In Command" class a couple days ago.

 

[9rj9]

Leo knows business

of course management doesn't want one list, ASA and Comair are cheap operators. If these guys can do it cheaper, mainline growth will be poor for years to come.

 

[DIAMONDDD]

Anybody ever think of this?

Hey, I am just wondering out loud here. What happens if these "RJ's" really take over, let's say, 40 percent of domestic traffic (in the future we are talking). Now you have these new "RJ's" that maybe have 70 or maybe 100 seats and the Captains are making around 90 bucks per hour. Now..........the guys from the regionals start thinking "hey, we need to up the ante a bit and finally get some good pay".
Here is what I am wondering: Wouldn't it be possible for management teams to try and undercut these guys as well by doing more outsourcing and using younger and younger guys who would be willing to work for even less to get experience? And could they do it to those guys, then the next guys and on and on until you have the "majors" that fly mostly long haul and international still making good money, but they have shrunk over the years. Then you have the first regionals that had a strong foothold but was undercut. These guys were making enough to have a fairly good living but now they are shrinking because of the next "regional".......You have, like, A, B, C and on scales..
I know this is taking it to the extreme but what do you folks think?

 

[Draginass]

Without strong scope there won't be any profession worth staying in or saving. $90 an hour? Presently, a second year FO at a major makes more than that and has a good retirement plan.

 

[publisher]

not happening

You are not looking at what is really going on. You are confusing real growth with fractional flying increases and that is not what is going on.

Why do you fly a feeder type small aircraft

1. to build a market presense.
2. to maintain a market presence
3. to give frequency in thin markets

After the 11th, the majors dropped number 1 and 3. It became a matter of putting smaller aircraft in to markets that had suddenly shrunk without market factors even being in play.

This will reverse itself as the process reverses. While th eflying may be growing, revenue seats in markets are not. Any increase is a revcapture of previously held seats.

The trouble is with many on here is that we continue to talk about this as a pilot issue which it is not. That myopic view ignors the rest of the economics and practicality of operations that exists. Just prior to the 11th, I attended meetings dealing with the difficulty of having more rj's enter the Eastern seaboard atc system. What a differnece a year makes