Reality for Delta Helps Jetblue

[Longhorn]

Also, as for my senority, I am just under 200 off the junior 320 ca here. I figure about another 1 year and 6-8 month. Just letting you know.

 

[FDJ2]

Weren't you the fellow who was argueing with me about Song being profitable couple months back? Apologies if I am wrong.

Apology accepted.

 

[IB6 UB9]

...and pilots who came in at less than half the industry standard wage and benefit rates, necesitating draconian cuts on the airlines that built this profession...

You really believe that?

 

[AKAAB]

Solong

 

[MercuryPilot]

Longhorn,

In my opinion, it is people like you that hurt this profession. You work 84 hours a month (1000 year) and make 62k and life is great. Next year you can add about 5k to that amount, and the next you can add another 4k or so. When I left last year, A320 upgrades were running in excess of 2 years, I am sure they are 3+ these days and more like 4 years for your seniority. The captains making 150k+ are working their butts off. i don't think we need to discuss those stellar E-190 pay rates.

Your health insurance has gone up significantly, they cut out crew meals (but added a dime or so in per diem, yee-haw!). Profit sharing is non existant and stock options are a loser for everybody except the first 400 or so. Not looking too good if you ask me...

Longhorn makes $62K a year for roughly 16 days of work a month. Very few folks in America would feel sorry for a guy who makes $62K a year for working barely half of every month.

Longhorn is a quality guy at our airline and I'm privledged to work w/him. BTW, since he's upgrading on the 190 in about 6 weeks your figures are inaccurate.

So sorry you left the team. Standing by for excuses...

 

[fifty30retard]

OK, so let me get this straight..Its unfair when a new LCC comes in and undercuts a legacy carrier on a route, but its an "unhealthy business atmosphere" when the legacy carrier does it right back?? I thought it was just competition?!
737

I agree and I work for B6. Competition is competition. You either adapt to increased competition or you shrivel up and die. Hats off to Delta for putting up one hell of a fight with a top notch product. It always bothers me when terms like irrational or unfair competition are used. There ain't nothing fair or rational about this business.

 

[Hair-on-Fire]

I agree and I work for B6. Competition is competition. You either adapt to increased competition or you shrivel up and die. Hats off to Delta for putting up one hell of a fight with a top notch product. It always bothers me when terms like irrational or unfair competition are used. There ain't nothing fair or rational about this business.

I agree. Let's keep the trash talk in the locker room and let our performance speak for itself.

Go Blue

 

[737 Pylt]

I agree and I work for B6. Competition is competition. You either adapt to increased competition or you shrivel up and die. Hats off to Delta for putting up one hell of a fight with a top notch product. It always bothers me when terms like irrational or unfair competition are used. There ain't nothing fair or rational about this business.

Thanks fifty:
It was by NO means a slam of JB! I highly respect your airline, and am envious of its increasing success in the biz. But now it seems you have fallen into the clutches of "cheap airfare." You guys deliver a quality product, no doubt, and I only wish you success. With Virgin US just around the corner, it looks as if any attempts at raising airfare to a "fair and respectable price" is highly unlikely!
regards,
737

 

[dtfl]

Very few folks in America would feel sorry for a guy who makes $62K a year for working barely half of every month.

I cant believe I just read this - from an airline pilot, no doubt. I have to explain time and time again, to my friends not in the industry that although I only went to work for 3 days, I actually spent 40 hours between flying, preflights, postlfights running to other planes, etc. So I worked the same work we they did - CRAMMED into 3 days. Very few folks in America would work 16 hour days.

 

[dtfl]

I agree and I work for B6. Competition is competition. You either adapt to increased competition or you shrivel up and die. Hats off to Delta for putting up one hell of a fight with a top notch product. It always bothers me when terms like irrational or unfair competition are used. There ain't nothing fair or rational about this business.

Ya know whats sad? (You gave us kudos for putting up a fight - cool.) We were running FL and the East Coast before JB even existed...and mgmt pissed it all away. People like your product. They liked Song too...and look what Delta Mgmt did to that.

 

[elag777]

Ya know whats sad? (You gave us kudos for putting up a fight - cool.) We were running FL and the East Coast before JB even existed...and mgmt pissed it all away. People like your product. They liked Song too...and look what Delta Mgmt did to that.

I hear that,nothing mgt does seems to make a lot of sense, Song is a good product and I wish the DAL guys the best :beer: .

 

[MercuryPilot]

I cant believe I just read this - from an airline pilot, no doubt. I have to explain time and time again, to my friends not in the industry that although I only went to work for 3 days, I actually spent 40 hours between flying, preflights, postlfights running to other planes, etc. So I worked the same work we they did - CRAMMED into 3 days. Very few folks in America would work 16 hour days.

Boo Hoo. Your not that important. If it's too much work, do something else where you're better compensated and don't have to work so much.

Plenty of people work 16 hour days - doctors, lawyers, etc. Come to think of it, my wife staying home w/the kids while I'm on a trip works 16 hour days.

 

[FurloughedTwice]

Jetblue finally has some relief from unfair market forces as Delta who loses billion and billions of dollars cuts back on Florida service. It seems the battle has been won by Jetblue at a cost. Jetblue nows faces a profit for 2006 due to the fact they can now charge fair prices to Florida. Passengers days of flying south for pennies are thankfully over. Congress needs to review the bankruptcy laws that enable companies that are dying or close to dead languish and create an unhealthy business atmoshphere to compete.

I hope you are just trying to stir the pot and you don't really believe this?

 

[jbvt]

I hope you are just trying to stir the pot and you don't really believe this?

Believe every word of it.

 

[FDJ2]

Believe every word of it.

Well it may only be a temporary seasonal cut in capacity.

Reuters:

"Delta said the cuts were capacity adjustments to seasonal demand changes and not permanent. "The schedule changes simply reflect a seasonal pull down in capacity for May, which is one of the lowest demand periods to Florida," said Delta spokesman John Kennedy. "

FWIW, Delta still plans on integrating the Song fleet into mainline and doubling the number of aircraft configured for and providing Song service to approximately 100 757s.

The overall domestic capacity will most likely decrease at DAL as the domestic wide bodied fleet is brought into international service. As Song is brought back into the mainline and expanded we'll have to see how the fleet is deployed. Stay tuned.

 

[fifty30retard]

Believe every word of it.

Come on bro. Unfair? Life isn't fair. Didn't your dad tell you that?

 

[shon7]

furloughed dude:

first of all...congrats for leaving b6...or should i say congrats to b6?

now let me see, would you have liked to get on with SWA when they were only 6 years old? Were they making industry "leading" wages then? where would you be if you got on with SWA during their first 5-6 years and were retiring these days? hmmmmm...probably pretty good i would imagine.

do you really think that b6 will get away with emb 190 pay rates IF they can make a profit? if you do, then your parents should demand a refund for the money they spent on your college education. business management 101! you went to college...right?

b6 has lots of problems...growing problems to be specific. one thing is for certain...they offer the best product around, and if/when the yield environment ever improves, there stock and all the cspp'ss that you mention will do just fine...don't you worry!

-- Amen

 

[Skank]

Elag,

I left after they announced the 190 rates, or rather sent a DHL package to us which informed us of the rates...

I knew then it was time to split. The job has certainly become much less desirable, with zero profit sharing, worthless stock options, and CRJ rates for a 100 seat aircraft. Not to mention ever increasing health care costs.

I wonder how many people are losing their butts on CSPP (do you really think the rampers/flight attendants, etc, unload their stock at 15%?) This is sounding more and more like People Express.

You've moved on. Good for you, so why are you even bothering with this? I haven't given you any thought at all. Sayonara!

 

[RJHagy]

Jetblue finally has some relief from unfair market forces as Delta who loses billion and billions of dollars cuts back on Florida service. It seems the battle has been won by Jetblue at a cost. Jetblue nows faces a profit for 2006 due to the fact they can now charge fair prices to Florida. Passengers days of flying south for pennies are thankfully over. Congress needs to review the bankruptcy laws that enable companies that are dying or close to dead languish and create an unhealthy business atmoshphere to compete.

Isn't it interesting when the LCC complain about "unfair market forces." What do you call it when numerous cities subsidize LCC and not legacy carriers. For example, SRQ in an effort to entice a LCC to enter it's market and compete with Delta and US Air, gave Air Tran $4 million (of which a portion was federal tax $$), plus other benefits not provided Delta or US Air, if it agreed to provide competition in its market against Delta. How is that fair? It's very easy to come in and slash prices to bus-fare levels when the city provides $$ to offset what would otherwise be a certain loss.

 

[Chronic Jetlag]

Isn't it interesting when the LCC complain about "unfair market forces." What do you call it when numerous cities subsidize LCC and not legacy carriers. For example, SRQ in an effort to entice a LCC to enter it's market and compete with Delta and US Air, gave Air Tran $4 million (of which a portion was federal tax $$), plus other benefits not provided Delta or US Air, if it agreed to provide competition in its market against Delta. How is that a fair? It's very easy to come in and slash prices to bus fare levels when the city provides $$ to offset what would otherwise be a certain loss.

Market forces have never been fair; it's always survival of the fittest. It wasn't so long ago when the legacy carriers would use predatory pricing to kill an upstart. We don't have to look too far back...remember Legend in TX? AA went in with twice the frequency and gave the seats away to kill off any competition. That strategy has been used many times. Business is business, company will do what ever it takes to survive, most often times at the expense of its employees. We pilots have to stick together no matter who we fly for because many of us have been with the "commuters, cargo, legacy, corporate..."