Pineapple Guy

586 are mandatory age 65 retirements in the next 4 years. So, you don't think ANY of the additional 2700 guys who will turn 60 between now and Dec-2016 will also retire, disable, or die?

daldude

Once again I stand totally corrected. I made the statement based on what has happened in our most recent merger. I also would gladly take a double in pay and advancement. But once again all I have known following a merger is continued decline in seniority in my base as we cut flight and pilots exercise there rights to move in to the base.

I apologize for the statement.

daldude

Unfortunately that is the only number I have and you have. Anything else is conjecture. I will say that the majority of pilots I fly with plan on staying as long as they can. I did fly with one Capt. 8 days ago that planned to go at 63 if he met his financial goals but he is only 54 now so I am not sure he counts.

I would never argue this point because I just don't have access to the data.

DALPA says:

the average age is 62 1/2

that we would be hiring in fall of 2012 short of economic melt down

that we will need 3000 pilots in next 3 years or something

that 300 would take early out

that plug and replace credit was ok because NW guys guys would retire and we would all move up as they replace them (750ish gone-no replacements in site)

So I actually have know idea what is true and would not pretend to.

Roadkill

Hey Galaxy III users out there!
I've got an Iphone 4S, and have been thinking about the GIII for it's bigger screen real-estate. How does it work with I-CrewMax, MicrosoftOutlook calendar/contacts/tasks/notes syncing, and commuting apps like NextFlight?
Battery power and actual phone sound quality/usability ?
Voice command ability (hopefully native and not sent out to some server like Siri!)

Thanks for any inputs!

newKnow

Daldude,

You think the merger is the reason for your decline in seniority?

Cycle Pilot

I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). Google Now (Siri in "Apple Talk") works beautifully! It's very responsive and understand speech really well. Check out YouTube for some "Google Now vs Siri" videos. Pretty funny stuff! Icrew Max works great. You have a couple options when it comes to email and calendar. You can use the native support in the device or purchase calendar or email apps from the Play Store. If you have Gmail, just install the Gmail app. If not, then there's an app that comes on the device that can sync your email with any email provider. My battery and phone quality are great on my Nexus. The S3 is supposed to be a major step up, so I'm sure you'll be happy with the S3. You can PM me if you have any other questions!

Timbo

Unfortunately, the Market decides how much "Growth" there will be in this industry, with or without mergers.

When Delta merged with Western in 1987, oil was about $20/bbl, Delta had no west coast presence, and Western had no east coast ops. That merger actually did create "Synergy" and subsequent growth, as Delta added flights from their east coast hubs, to feed the west, and vice versa.

Delta already had a bunch of brand new 767's and 757's being deliverd. The Western pilots benefited with access to those newer, higher paying airframes being put into their bases. The 'east' pilots lost those seats when Delta put them into SLC and LAX crew bases.

And look at how many former DL pilot bases are closed today, vs. former WAL bases. BOS, MIA, HOU, MSY, ORD all gone. SLC and LAX are still here, add SEA and MSP from the NW Merger, and just about every former Western base is available to them.

Today, times are a lot different. The US Economy is STILL in the toilet, 11 years after 9-11. And with Oil over $100/bbl. industry consolodation is the new mantra. Mergers today are looked at as a means to reduce competition and Survive, not a strategy to Grow into new markets.

Now look at what's going on in Europe. Think that has an impact on our International flying?

And you can still buy an airline ticket from NY to Florida for under $200 today, just like in 1987, even though the price of fuel is up over 500% since 1987.

THAT's why we are shrinking our way to prosperity today, vs. seeing the growth that came as a result of the Western merger.

Until we see the economy pick up, which won't happen until fuel prices come down, we are going to see a more shrinkage in the US Economy, and our industry.

Bucking Bar

iCrew Max = Great!
Microsoft Outlook = ... not sure ... GMail integration is perfect across multiple platforms to keep everything linked and snyc'd. With Android you are probably going to want to port over to Google's product, it is just so much better ....
Commuting Apps = Great! Faster, easier
Voice Command = Sort of Broken ... was great ... now Siri like

The GIII is a data hungry animal (as is the new iPhone 5). Suggest a solid, fast, network like AT&T or Verizon. Our family have been Sprint Customers forever and Sprint hosed their network up, then began chasing the iPhone crowd which clogged their EVDO speeds down. I think we get a 23% discount on AT&T. Been thinking about trying them.

Now GO GET YOUR PHONE !!!!!

Bucking Bar

To add ...

Demographics are what they are. People have been moving South since the invention of air conditioning made the South comfortable in August. NWA's passenger base was moving away from their network ... nothing against NWA, but people simply moved away.

If you graph NWA's capacity, pre merger, the trend has continued. It infuriates NERD to no end, but if you consider we are run by f-NWA management and have to deal with NWA's network, it is what it is.

We are labor. We did not make the call. We simply have to make the best of the pump and dump engineered by our hedge fund owners ... and I think the employees of Delta Air Lines from ramp agents to Mr. Anderson have done a terrific job making something very good from terrific ingredients.

With Global Warming and juniority, we may move North. It is 73 in Atlanta right now. I can remember being excited to play football one Thanksgiving because the temperature made it up to 50. Our temperatures are like Miami's when I was a kid. We are also starting to see different threats from more aggressive types of Termites and other pests, which have not made it into the State in years past.

Guess I should plant some bougainvillea.

daldude

No, my seniority has not declined on the overall seniority list. I lost like 1.78% relative seniority during SLI.

My original post was in response to some one making an observation on slow progression and I had a mini rant on my slow progression as a 2001 DAL hire.

The other poster had mentioned his continued decline and bidding power in ATL. (not on the list as a whole) and I had another little rant concerning my hire groups loss of bidding power in certain bases ATL, SLC, and LAX. I would argue that the MEM guys have had it much worse.

I also made the silly statement about the Western merger which I actually had no information on and have been corrected. I had no idea that there was such massive growth following it. I did apologize for making that statement. I've actually never seen growth.

However, it appears to me. That in certain southern and western bases there has been an influx of pilots that have exercised there right to bid those bases and as a result I have lost a fair amount of bidding power or been displaced.

I guess ultimately i was moving slowing forward up until 2008 with the exception of the half decade on furlough and now with every single bid since 2008 I move backward at least in LAX, SLC and ATL. I would have moved forward in MSP and DTW.