Bucking Bar

The same argument could be made for every merger.

The benefits outweigh the down sides.

I think we all can agree it would be better if Delta did the screening before they entered the Delta brand and began flying Delta passengers.

It sounds harsh, but I'm mostly interested in the end state ... that Delta pilots perform Delta flying. Whether Delta wants to get there by setting up it's own operation and sun-setting the failing parts of DCI, fine. But with a $25,000,000,000.00 investment already made in DCI it has a lot of momentum. Who knows, management out at least $4 billion into Comair without shedding a tear at it's funeral.

80ktsClamp

Was that from the same persons that gave you the good information that you told me that AR got hired a month before he actually interviewed? Or something that AR himself said after he got the "don't bother again" from HR?

80ktsClamp

It's below 30%. You've got to factor in that they were sifting through the lifer group, but the point remains the same. It's a group where many probably shouldn't be flying an airliner in the first place...

Bucking Bar

80kts,

Parts of the process were spooky on the DAL side. They had my payroll (sick time) records and full HR file from their subsidiary, plus my CP was there eating lunch. My info was already in Delta Security's database and my current Delta employee number is actually a recycled ASA number ... who knows what they were thinking, but there was a painting of the Delta Family Tree over in the Delta Offices that showed ASA and Comair merged into Delta and their brands disappearing. That disappeared (got painted over) when quite a few ASA pilots began to notice and they remodeled the space. In general, ASA (a publically traded Company with it's own marketing, code and tickets) was stripped of all of it's back office funtions and those jobs transferred to Delta (if you were a manager you transferred with longevity and some current Delta pilots did just that).

ALPA says Delta Management would have never merged their subsidiaries. Some of my friends in management who are now long retired stated, well, that was the plan (at least in the early days). My knowledge of that history isn't deep enough to make any definitive claims.

It would be interesting to know since thousands of people's lives were effected.

Free Mason

Sailing;

You appear to have contacts on the 4th floor, and if I recall have some at AMR. Go ask your AMR buddies who is going to be on their interview panels? Isn't there a APA pilot representative that takes a active part in the hiring process of the individual candidates?

Maybe DALPA is missing an opportunity here.

On a side note, the MPL looks on the surface to allow low time pilots the to close the gap that was just legislatively created. Bar has a great point. There are other ways to do this that win for the profession and for the company. It only happens if the union takes the issue up and soon. The company is looking at a restricted ATP type of deal that for all practical purposes is a MPL. Its about cost.

Bar has also illustrated that the Pinnacle Bridge agreement was a promise of a maybe, and the pilots took significant cuts in pay for that maybe. What would the regional world be willing to forgo for a seniority number? It appears that Bar is on to something here, and the cost, and attraction issue could be solved by DALPA and all mainline carriers owning more of their flying, whether it be on once certificate or multiple. There appears to be an opportunity that Bar is driving towards.

A bargaining agent representing pilots that are performing the services of more of their carriers code leads to better leverage. It would not be about "just" the regional pilots, but also about better leverage for all levels of seniority. This issues get muddied when pilots trying to create squatters rights for someone that does not directly benefit nor is not represented by their union. Its really simple; more flying performed by DALPA=better leverage for all pilots going forward. Bar calls it unity, and hes right, we need that to create a response that is good for us and solves the corporate issue. If we don't we argue with each other and once again miss an opportunity to fly more of our flying, and recapture more leverage for years to come.

Free Mason

PG;

Go read the start of this forum seven years ago. 50% pass rate is probably the target pass rate for all interviews here at Delta. The first few months off of the street back in 2007 had pass rates above 80%. In the 2010 time frame the aviation knowledge test was sigificantly changed and the first time pass rate went way down. Changes to the cog screening this time have tripped more up. Point is the interviw is changed, and some of the pass rate varriances can be attributed to many things, but the reality is 50% is an acceptable rate.

RockyBoy

I don't know if I would go that far, but it is a group that for one reason or another never left a job they never intended to stay at in the first place. Some may have violations and a poor safety record, but for the most part I think most of them are just lazy and unmotivated which has shown in the interviews. Almost all of these guys can fly an airplane, they just can't study enough to pass a 50 question knowledge test.

I don't know what the new test is like, but the old one wasn't testing anything other than your ability to test. Very few of the questions on there actually tested your ability to fly the line on a daily basis.

Lone Palm

I take serious offense to your comment, there's plenty of us at Endeavor that work hard, keep our noses clean, and are just waiting for a chance at an interview let alone an upgrade sometime within a decade. Please don't characterize us all by the actions of the top percentile.

forgot to bid

See...

Bucking Bar

That's a statement full of bigotry that flies in the face of the FAA, Delta, ALPA their air airline's training and checking people, etc .... are you sure that is the point you want to make?

However, if there were "lifers" they would not necessarily have to bid over to Delta (if we were to adopt a System Seniority Number annexation of their list). Sounds like they might not want to. If I were a senior Captain on a familiar jet with a girl friend in Jackson Mississippi (just kidding about the last part).