finis72

If Dank is a Navy dude I would consider a post service inter-service transfer.

Wasatch Phantom

Sailing,

Not to pick on you, but wasn't it two years ago that Delta sent out another "Request for Proposals" for 200 narrowbody aircraft with an option for an additional 200 (possible buy of 400 aircraft)? The "decision" was to be announced in the fall.

So what happens? Airbus announces the introduction of the NEO series of the A-320 family and sells several hundred at the Paris airshow, as well as hundreds more afterward. Boeing gets virtually shut out in Paris with their
sub-mediocre 737 product (IIRC they sold four).

When Delta finally makes a decision Airbus has sold the heck out of the A-320 NEO's and has about zero incentive to give Delta a good price (just like Boeing's lack of incentive to discount the 777-300-ER's today).

Boeing on the other hand has been totally humiliated by the the relative sales of the NEO on the one hand, and their lackluster 737 product on the other, and decides to produce the so-called "Max" series of 737. Boeing offers Delta a deeply discounted price on the current generation 737.

Delta announces their decision. They're going to buy 100 737-900's. They bought a crappy airplane (because they got a "deal"), but they ordered 1/2 of what their original RFP was for, much less the options.

It's probably pretty obvious from the tone of my post, but I was very underwhelmed. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I'm not expecting much at all...

Please let me be wrong!

forgot to bid

I got an ATTILA message tonight. I felt like a bully laughing at this poor little machine trying to tell us to do something. I've never felt like a bully.

buzzpat

Notice how we're now turning Logo lights BACK on after being told to turn them off for years....pretty soon, we'll be cranking up the APU on descent so as not to have any sort of brief interruption of electrical/pneumatic supply. DAL reminds me so much of the Air Force.

forgot to bid

So a 200 NB RFP becomes an order for 100 739s in August 2011 and the other 100 just disappears and is cancelled. Until we of course announce in May we're going to acquire AirTrans 88 B717s, contingent on passing at TA and a 76 seater for 50 seaters swap.

A couple of things jump out with that. First, we had the intent and evidently the finances to do 200 NBs, but then it turns out we really only could do 100 because there wasn't enough money to add 100 more NBs plus have RJs. And not just another 100 NBs, we couldn't even afford 88 cheap and used NBs. So why did we ever say 200 in the first place if we couldn't afford it?

Second, since the merger of SWA/FL in the fall of 2010 the rumors were running rampant about B717s. We were told over and over it's a lie throughout 2011 and early 2012. FWIW, the 717 bid closes Monday.

Third, we were told the acquisition of the 717s was totally contingent on us, if we didn't do it they'd go elsewhere. Some of us thought the 717s were coming anyways because why would the cut-throat SWA and GK bother to make such a deal dependent on the Delta pilots vote? And why did we delay/cancel the remainder of the 200 NB RFP 8 months prior? I guess we'll never know but isn't saying they'll go away forever if you don't vote yes the same as saying vote yes and we'll definitely maybe hire this year?

^^^ And don't get me wrong, that's fair. I get that's negotiating. My problem was we were being told to vote yes by our own MEC.

80ktsClamp

forgot to bid

Nice find!

KC10 FATboy

By the way, Emirates uses it now.

80ktsClamp

Emirates doesn't have Emirates connection flying half its airline's arrivals into DXB... not to mention the mix of other carriers is even lower than ATL.

However, if they apply it the same way DL did, it will have the same non-results. Only with mandatory compliance AND flight deck compliance measurement will it ever actually function as advertised as that way you get real statistical input instead of assumptions.

Otherwise, they got duped just the same!

The math on the ATTILA scoreboard is all 100% invalid, FWIW. It is all based on assumptions inserted into the variables. From there, they extrapolate that poor baseline into other figures which exacerbate the errors.

forgot to bid

This makes no sense, it saves us $70+ million a year in fuel?!? Why would we get rid