Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: Big ones
Posts: 784
I found out a long time ago that if you step up and actually do something to improve pilots' lives, rather than just writing about it on a webboard, that you will subject yourself to this type of personal attack. I am so used to it by now that it just rolls off me like water on the windshield.
If you ever decide to get off your butt and actually do something, then you will find out that solutions are never as easy as they seem. It is ironic that the same people that go ballistic on this forum over the "FLY" button on the Delta safety video, then act as if there is a "GET MORE" button at the union office, and the only thing we need to do is push that button and money will flow like the Mississippi in April.
If it were that easy then someone at American, or United, or Continental, or Southwest, or US Airways would have pressed that button a long time ago. Remember American took 6 years and they never found that button, Airtran 7 years, United 3 years, Continental 4 years. Why oh why did they not push that button? Is it just that Carl, and TOGA, and Purple knew where the button was and didn't tell them, or is it because that button does not exist.
I think you can tell that the button does not exist. There is only one thing. Work. Grinding, difficult, stressful work. Of course you don't know that because you have never done it, instead you choose to denigrate those that work on your behalf. But hey, we have a free country so you can say what you want. I just ask all the readers to decide which theory is more plausible; is there some magic button to push or is there just a series of extremely difficult problems to solve and solving them is neither easy nor free of problems. You decide.
The fact is that our deal was the trigger that broke the entire industry out of the bankruptcy era. United followed us. American is directly hanging onto our coattails. US Airways is just along for the ride with American. Without our deal, we are stuck for years and years in stasis.
So launch away with your attacks it makes no difference to me. I know what I did, I know what our team accomplished, I know what it meant to the industry. Almost every negotiator, professional and pilot alike, has expressed their gratitude to the Delta MEC for breaking out of the logjam. I value their opinions over the webboard guys any day.
So I am now much happier that I have peeled off those layers of responsibility layers that affected me both at work and at home for too many years. I feel no remorse because I gave my time, now it is someone else's turn. In the most difficult times I always relied on this quote from Winston Churchill:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
So I have stumbled, I have fallen short, I have dared and lost, I admit to all those failings. But I was there, fighting the best fight I could and others were sitting on the sidelines carping and crying and complaining. If that makes you feel superior then go ahead. I don't see it that way. I have a camaraderie with those guys that I fought with that will last my lifetime. Those are just as important to me as the monetary gains that we achieved. I only wish for you that you can get off this mountain of bitterness that you have built for yourself and get involved in some positive action to better the lives of those around you. You seem to be a particularly unhappy and bitter person. Your attacks mean nothing to me as you aren't in the arena, you aren't fighting the fight, you are just a brick thrower.
I hope that didn't bamboozle you.
If you ever decide to get off your butt and actually do something, then you will find out that solutions are never as easy as they seem. It is ironic that the same people that go ballistic on this forum over the "FLY" button on the Delta safety video, then act as if there is a "GET MORE" button at the union office, and the only thing we need to do is push that button and money will flow like the Mississippi in April.
If it were that easy then someone at American, or United, or Continental, or Southwest, or US Airways would have pressed that button a long time ago. Remember American took 6 years and they never found that button, Airtran 7 years, United 3 years, Continental 4 years. Why oh why did they not push that button? Is it just that Carl, and TOGA, and Purple knew where the button was and didn't tell them, or is it because that button does not exist.
I think you can tell that the button does not exist. There is only one thing. Work. Grinding, difficult, stressful work. Of course you don't know that because you have never done it, instead you choose to denigrate those that work on your behalf. But hey, we have a free country so you can say what you want. I just ask all the readers to decide which theory is more plausible; is there some magic button to push or is there just a series of extremely difficult problems to solve and solving them is neither easy nor free of problems. You decide.
The fact is that our deal was the trigger that broke the entire industry out of the bankruptcy era. United followed us. American is directly hanging onto our coattails. US Airways is just along for the ride with American. Without our deal, we are stuck for years and years in stasis.
So launch away with your attacks it makes no difference to me. I know what I did, I know what our team accomplished, I know what it meant to the industry. Almost every negotiator, professional and pilot alike, has expressed their gratitude to the Delta MEC for breaking out of the logjam. I value their opinions over the webboard guys any day.
So I am now much happier that I have peeled off those layers of responsibility layers that affected me both at work and at home for too many years. I feel no remorse because I gave my time, now it is someone else's turn. In the most difficult times I always relied on this quote from Winston Churchill:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
So I have stumbled, I have fallen short, I have dared and lost, I admit to all those failings. But I was there, fighting the best fight I could and others were sitting on the sidelines carping and crying and complaining. If that makes you feel superior then go ahead. I don't see it that way. I have a camaraderie with those guys that I fought with that will last my lifetime. Those are just as important to me as the monetary gains that we achieved. I only wish for you that you can get off this mountain of bitterness that you have built for yourself and get involved in some positive action to better the lives of those around you. You seem to be a particularly unhappy and bitter person. Your attacks mean nothing to me as you aren't in the arena, you aren't fighting the fight, you are just a brick thrower.
I hope that didn't bamboozle you.
(PS you might be quoting Pres Roosevelt but that's really beside the point. Thank you for laboring for so many strangers.)
It's at the least long winded, and there is some serious self love in there!
Is self love wrong? If it is, I don't want to be right.
Just saw Profit Sharing Check in the bank. Great, but Obama took 25% for Income tax, 6% Soc Sec, 2% Medicare, and ALPA took 2%....Guess what? That equals 35%.... Back to the coal mine.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,612
The only measure of productivity between pilot groups is block hours flown per pilot. Aircraft usage goes up and down with the economy, marketing and type of operation. Usage varies quite a bit at Delta even among narrow body fleets. At the moment as a example we have a surplus of MD88/90 airframes and could fly them more if marketing decides the economy is improving by adding pilots. We needed as many as 35 pilots for each 777 but that is because of high daily hours flown and the need for 3 and 4 man crews.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,612
But on the 88/90, which flies a near identical mission to SWAs 737 fleet, we are running about 4.9-4.8 crews vs SWAs 5.6 crews.
And that's set to go lower if as they said in the crew planning newsletter they reduce staffing further on that jet even with more 90s coming.
But if we went up to SWAs 5.6, we could soon add almost 370 pilots alone just for the 88.
And that's set to go lower if as they said in the crew planning newsletter they reduce staffing further on that jet even with more 90s coming.
But if we went up to SWAs 5.6, we could soon add almost 370 pilots alone just for the 88.
2011 numbers
SWA 62.1
DAL 42.9
Those numbers are being skewed some because Delta was carrying a greater surplus of pilots then SWA however we are no where near their level of productivity. 2012 numbers are not out yet.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,612
The apples to apples measurement is block hours flown per pilot. Unless you know the average daily usage of each fleet comparing hulls to pilots is meaningless. The comparison posted also uses the total number of SW pilots including management, training, mil leave, personal leave, long term sick verses the exact manning numbers at Delta on the 88/90 excluding the above pilots. To get a actual comparison you have to add all those pilots back into the Delta numbers.
How else will us working people pay for Obamacare if not highly taxed? As I said last year, wait until this country sees welfare recipients triple with the new 29 hour requirement over 40. Its coming my friend and the damn working man beware.
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Posts: 19,612
I know your a smart guy from your posts so I can only conclude your are trying to mislead readers with your post. You are fully aware your using the total number of SW pilots verses a snapshot of one fleet at Delta that excludes a large number of pilots your including at SW. This includes management pilots, personal leave pilots, mil leave pilots, long term sick pilots, training pilots ect....
http://library.constantcontact.com/d...me-Booklet.pdf
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