Pilots Smooth Way for DAL/NWA Merger

[spg2bmd]

No need to guess that, I just told you it was a guess. Probably all that anyone can come up with right now, his/her .02.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

No need to guess that, I just told you it was a guess. Probably all that anyone can come up with right now, his/her .02.

Hold your ground, man. Saying there won't be any furloughs is probably just as stoopid as saying there will be.

Management will let both camps know in about 6-8 months when they run out of "synergies".

 

[XJohXJ]

Ive got nothing to back that up with, just a guess. My hopes are certainly on no furloughs, perhaps the fence will help with that for the time being. Truth of the matter is, though, Compass is a perfect holding tank, as is Mesaba. Seems as though they could act in the same way that Eagle did for the American furloughs from 9/11.

Nothing is certain right now for any of the Delta and NWA regionals. Mesaba might or might not exist when the dust settles, but we will not be a holding tank, as we are protected from flow backs.

Currently Mesaba has had no one flow up, so there are no available flow back spots. 6 to 8 months from now, we might have zero flow ups (it's not certain until it happens, as I'm sure the 9 or 12 guys held back all know), or as many as 20-30 maybe. That would mean at most 20-30 spots for flow backs.

Compass has a different deal, so a Compass pilot can address that.

 

[John Pennekamp]

I don't see furloughs in the next 12-18 months At DeltaWest. However, if a full-blown recession settles in, and the international market suffers, I could see one happening after that. And that would be merger or no merger.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Where do you come up with this? Good guess, eh? Looking at your experience I would venture to guess you are an ASA or SkyWestie. So, you have the inside track, huh? We are still hiring 100 in March, and 50 a month after that. I guess you better tell those people that....It will take 6-8 months for this to clear the DOJ and guys like Oberstar probably, and hiring will continue because there is still a chance the DOJ will turn it down.... And to appease the lawmakers, there will have to be some concessions on possible base closures that would cause job loss. (Anderson already agreed under pressure to keep CVG open) Bye Bye--General Lee

My above comment notwithstanding, it's food for thought that they admitted they are hiring "in case the merger doesn't go through". So does that mean they'll be overstaffed if it does?

 

[SWA tech]

who cares

 

[~~~^~~~]

deleted entire post....

 

[General Lee]

My above comment notwithstanding, it's food for thought that they admitted they are hiring "in case the merger doesn't go through". So does that mean they'll be overstaffed if it does?

I don't think so, since we are hiring for INTL routes that NWA does not currently fly to. Will they immediately park the 68 larger DC9s (-40/-50s)? I doubt that too, since they use them on current routes that compete with LCCs etc. Supposedly NWA has taken into account the 30 or so DC9-30s they are parking this year, and they are still hiring. A lot of the current domestic planes that can fly INTL routes (NWA 757s etc) are being fit with winglets and are being sent to more lucrative cities overseas from their hubs and other cities, like BDL to AMS. I think if anything the combined hiring will slow a bit, but not stop. We are still getting 6 777LRs in 3 months (Dec 31st(08) to March 31s(09)), and just those planes alone will cause a large bump in future hiring, and they are FIRM orders. Do you know how long those 777LRs can fly? The BOM to JFK sector can be 17 hours long, with 4 pilots. If that is a daily flight, and others like that are added (maybe LAX to SYD??), how many people are needed to fill 6 more of them? We get three of them in one day (Mar 31st, 09). Add to that the 7 737-700s we get this year (and more next year), and maybe some MD90s.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Noserider76]

Anyone hearing any rumors on the supposed "agreement" they care to share? I know nothing has been announced but the silence is deafening. The few rumors I've heard haven't given me a warm fuzzy. No offense to anyone from NW but, having worked there for a short time, I see very little to gain and much to lose for the DL guys.

 

[General Lee]

Lee Moak and company know they will be chopped to bits if they come up with something one sided. Let's see how it works out.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[FDJ2]

Anyone hearing any rumors on the supposed "agreement" they care to share? I know nothing has been announced but the silence is deafening. The few rumors I've heard haven't given me a warm fuzzy. No offense to anyone from NW but, having worked there for a short time, I see very little to gain and much to lose for the DL guys.

Rumors are just that rumors. Do you actually expect to get a warm fuzzy from a rumor? Will the rumor that gives you that warm fuzzy be any more valid than the one that didn't?

Look, we are just going to have to have faith in our respective merger committees and elected representatives.

Delving into rumors will only increase the level of anxiety you feel.

Just my two cents.

 

[Noserider76]

Rumors are just that rumors. Do you actually expect to get a warm fuzzy from a rumor? Will the rumor that gives you that warm fuzzy be any more valid than the one that didn't?

Look, we are just going to have to have faith in our respective merger committees and elected representatives.

Delving into rumors will only increase the level of anxiety you feel.

Just my two cents.

I know your right, there. The more I look at it though, I just don't really see anyway this can come out to be a even a so so deal for us. Especially those of us in the middle of the pack and down. Take the bases alone for example. How to you protect DL guys in, not so arguably better bases, from terminal career stagnation or worse? I worked at NW and the place is full of commuters from warm climates.

Anyway, no one's going to ask my opinion (I hope I'll get a vote though), so I'll try to chill.

 

[FDJ2]

Take the bases alone for example. How to you protect DL guys in, not so arguably better bases, from terminal career stagnation or worse?

I think we all have our concerns. We're concerned about their ice cold bases and their relatively larger narrow bodied fleet of DC-9s and 319. I'm sure the NWA guys are concerned about their 747s, their DOH and their larger number of retirements in the short term.

Fences can certainly help, but unlike the proverbial fence that makes a good neighbor, tall fences can also divide a pilot group. It's going to be a balancing act.

 

[tomgoodman]

No turning back

FWIW, a post from another forum indicates that even the MECs are powerless once a list has been drawn up by the merger committee:

That's the way the Merger Committee functions under ALPA Merger and Fragmentation Policy. Remember, the Merger Committee is elected by the MEC and the MEC can recall them and elect a new committee. But once a SLI is inked by the committee, that's it. No turning back, no MEC ratification, no memrat.

However, if not to their liking, the company can reject the list and send it back to ALPA to be renegotiated. The timeline then becomes much shorter and still ends in binding arbitration if no list is produced.

I can see the reason for this -- to avoid endless fighting over the list. But there will still be endless beefing.

 

[Flybet3]

Certainly looks as though this may become a reality. Im a little surprised, though to see the unions agree on a "conceptual" plan within such a short period of time.

It's time for pilots to unite, take care of their brothers/sisters and not only think about themselves.