biigD

You don't even need the qualifiers - I know someone at US Airways (west pilot) coming up on 7.5 years of longevity - 9 total if you include the furlough - still sitting reserve in PHX.

Timbo

Me pesonally, no, but I know lots of guys just senior to me who did, and they were reserve 727 Flight Engineers, at least todays guys stuck on the bottom have a window seat.

In Sept. of 1981, when the ATC guys went on strike, Delta (and all the Majors) stopped hiring, Delta didn't start up again until 4 years later, Sept. 3, 1985. The guys hired in 1979-81 were stuck on the bottom, on reserve, as engineers, for 6-8 years, depending on what base they were in, ie. how senior F/O was in that base. AND...every time there was an A/E, they would get bounced from base to base, as the flying time shifted around, they would get displaced out of one base, into another, like a ping pong ball, every bid!

We had a lot more bases back then, (ORD, MIA, BOS, IAH, MSY, DFW, etc.) but with no access to our own jumpseats, there were very few commuters.

I flew with one F/O in BOS on the 727, when I was an F/E, who spent 11 years on the 727 panel, the last 4 were by choice, he liked to be senior, but BOS was a very senior base too, so you were not going to move up very fast there.

I 'only' had to spend 3 years on the panel, because I was in MIA then BOS, and because I bid off it as soon as I could hold bottom F/O, but there were lots of 6 year + engineers back then.

Timbo

Don't forget, at one time TWA, PanAm and Eastern were all pretty big...

When I was hired at DL, one of the top Management guys came to talk with our newhire class, Q+A type thing. Somebody asked him if Delta was ever going to grow out west, or into south america, etc. The (much shortend for here) answer was,

"We don't want to be the biggest carrier, we just want to make the most money!"

Amen!

flyallnite

The problem is that by "we" he meant "me". We have a long legacy of highly compensated outsourcers.

SailorJerry

Furlough no, multiple carriers yes. Thanks to training and vacation in the same month I held a line here once in 27 months. I was awful at it. Before that I was on reserve 4 out of 6 years at a regional. That had awful reserve rules. And I mean awful.

Just trying to get my head wrapped around this seniority entitlement complex. Nothing to see here. Except really sharp rain drops falling from the sky and accumulating as slush. Back to Amy Shumer videos.

dalad

Still waiting for Nemo, just rain right now. Looks like we could avoid the worst of it in Queens.

Erdude32

Sooo, what happens when we can't get to NYC because DAL cancelled all the flights to get there. Even if my work trip is cancelled, kinda hard to sit 23K if you can't get there.

biigD

I'm not a Delta guy and I don't know your rules, but I think this would be a good time to kick back and fix yourself a Caucasian, dude!

dalad

Best thing to do is try to get a trip that starts with a deadhead, so be proactive if you think they are going to use, er, abuse you. So far just a cold rain, so if this keeps up it will be a non event. I hope I didn't speak too soon.

Timbo

No, this VP was pre-carpet bagger days, back when Delta lived by C.E. Woolman's motto; Hire good people, treat them right, they'll keep the customers happy, and Delta will be successful. After the controller strike and economic downturn of 1981-83, Delta was the only Major who didn't furlough anyone. That's why when, in 1983, they ordered the (new) 767's, the employees contributed enough money to buy the first one, as a show of gratitude for not furloughing. In 1985, Delta had been number 1 in Customer Satisfaction for 17 straight years. Until Mo'Ron took over, Delta had NEVER lost money for a single quarter, let alone a full year!

Then, in 1987, Dave Garrett retired, and instead of picking Hollis Harris (the guy who talked to our newhire class) the board chose Ron Allen as the new CEO...

Ron bought Pan Am, paid 3x too much for it, going into a huge recession in 1991, and for the first time in Delta's history, started furuloughing people in 1993. His famous quote, when asked if that would have a negative impact on all employee morale, was, "So Be It".

Ron was so bad, the board finally fired him (didn't renew his contract) and hired Leo Mullen, who WAS the KING of Outsoucing! Leo came from McKinsey Associates, an outsourcing consulting firm.

It was Leo and his underling, Fred Reid, who bought 600 RJ's, gave them to Com Air and ASA, to replace our narrow body flying.