NavyFlyer

This is literally the dumbest thing you have ever posted. And that’s saying a lot.

I’ve spoken to Shmeltzer in person, and he confirmed that the large AE’s staggered every 11 months was saving them a ton of money by creating artificially long seat locks.

It’s smart of the company in order to cut training costs. Not so great for their flexibility, which they have come to find out. I’m sure we’ll see this change/modified in order to allow for a more adaptable organization in the future.

That said, your 5 AE’s included only one of substance. The others were minimal and only allowed for new hire positions.

You can support your company without being a management shill.


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sailingfun

I would say your post is not exactly smart if you don’t understand how our freeze works. This question was asked several years ago at the AMS meeting and the answer from crew crew resources was exactly what I posted. This was when they put out they were going to smaller bids. It should also be obvious. Each pilot having a freeze extended will also see a pilot with a shorter freeze. I would put your post up there with the 3 man domestic augmented ops thread. It’s simple math. Crew resources looks at one main item when they post a bid. Staffing for networks block hour plan. It drives the timing of everything.
As far as the bids this year the first one I would say had some substance, then the big bid and now a bid coming out the forum says will be huge.

sailingfun

I appreciate the tone of your post unlike NavyFlyer. I agree with some of what you see but keep in mind your posting about freezes from a pilot perspective. The company perspective on a freeze is how long you are converted and flying a specific seat.
This year will be the least number of AE’s ever. We will have 5.

NavyFlyer

I understand perfectly how the freezes work. I also understand the costs savings of the large AE staggered so as to produce artificially long seat locks. That is basic math.

The company gets it—as do the leaders in Crew Resources. They’ve admitted this is how they operate when discussing the issue in large forums with our pilots because they understand we aren’t naive and dumb.

I haven’t seen this November bid and am skeptical until I see it on paper. If it’s large and produces some movement, then I’ll call it 2.5 meaningful AE’s this year.

You don’t like my tone, and that’s fair. But I don’t like you and guys like Trip7 saying this place is all rosy, all the time. It’s a great place to work, but we are all just labor. We have great lives, but they could be better. And guys like me are actively trying to work to get there. We (You, Me, Trip) all want the same things—I just happen to regard a lot of what management says as BS until they do what they say they’re going to do. Or actually purchase some big jets, and don’t commit numerous scope violations. And pay me more and give me more time off, darn it.

You can bend over backwards to go above and beyond for Delta. That’s your prerogative. I will do my job, and do it well. But I cannot save Delta from Delta—and that’s what their cost cutting and optimization has led to this year.


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caddis

Mud Hen-

I screwed up the cut and paste where you asked where the info on the AE was coming from. I was reading it on SkyHub in comments from BS

sailingfun

The North system would be nice but keep in mind they were running a relatively static system with 3 bases plus the cargo operation. That’s vastly different from a very dynamic fleet and network system with grow that we have today with 8 bases. Nothing in the contract stops the company from monthly bids if they desired.

sailingfun

A couple of comments. Their cost cutting and optimization led to record profits and one of the best operational performances in the history of the airline.
As far as saving Delta from Delta I suspect you have no idea what working for a crappy airline is really like. When you go a entire month and never push once ontime with a average delay of 90 minutes and numerous cancelations come talk to me. My last cancelled flight was 18 months ago.
You might also find your opinion of Delta’s performance completely at odds with every source and opinion out there from industry experts who are amazed at what Delta is accomplishing.

NavyFlyer

I understand how their optimization led to record profits. I also understand that the Sodomizer led to a lot of a** pain this summer due to short staffing and reroutes, and crappy trips. This, Sailing, affected my quality of life. Thus, these profits, while nice, decreased my personal way of life. I’d like to be compensated for that, instead of giving it to Wall Street, buy backs and executive compensation.

We run a great business and execute the flight schedule. That’s great. We also don’t “cancel” flights—we just move them 20 hours to the right and fly empty planes in order for it to count as just a long delay. But let’s not kid ourselves.

I’ve never once said we aren’t the best run airline in the business. I know reading comprehension is difficult. I understand that and am proud of the fact that we, as a company, are doing well. But it’s because they have employees that are amazing and work hard, that I want to share in that success. I want increased scope protections, retirement benefits, less outsourcing of my job, increased compensation and more time off. After all, the company can afford a few changes while the times are good. We know things will go south at some point and we’ll have to give back some of our gains. So let’s get while the getting is good.


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caddis

4-6 bases on the North side with SEA ANC and HNL during my time. Actually it would work better IMO than what we have now in a lot of ways for both sides. For pilots being able to choose when you go to training would be a huge win. The window would go from 210-365 days down to being converted with in 90. For the company would also be able to react more quickly to changes. The 88 reinstatement’s are a prime example. The whole it’s easier to eat an elephant in small chunks thought process. By the way word is up to 200 88 positions for new hires this year with them staying longer and guys bidding off.

That and the temp basing we had could be good as well. Temp basing was great way to flex bases up and down. It didn’t affect seniority either like a VB would. With a temp base assignment you chose to go to a different base in seniority order but you bid after all the in base guys did. You also had hotels and per firm if on reserve as a temp.

gloopy

That's largely based on the (false) assumption that our profits are largely dependant on the QOL shredding optimizer nonsense though. While that may have made us ever so slightly more profitable, what they've done in the last year or so to hammer our QOL with the worst pairings we've seen in a very long time is a huge net negative for us and likely, at best, an extremely small amount of additional profit.

The notion that we're very profitable, ergo anything and everything they do results in all of that profitability and were we to back off some of the spastic optimizer addiction a little bit, we'd be knocking on the doors of BK again is obviously false but constantly vaguely implied.

The company is doing very well, obviously. But that does not retroactively justify mistakes being made, nor does it imply we need those bad decisions to continue in order to be as profitable as we are, even if some of those bad decisions ever so slightly add pennies to what was already going to be massive profits anyway.