Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
07-29-2011, 06:40 AM
Gets Weekends Off
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I would HAVE to commute. I couldn't actually move to any of those cities because my favorite Mexican restaurant is right across the street from my house here in ATL.
07-29-2011, 06:41 AM
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07-29-2011, 06:42 AM
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If DPA wins, I plan to launch a union replacement drive to form an ATL union. We compete with SEA, CVG, MEM for the same jobs, and I'm tired of them taking my flying.
Exact same analogy goes for my ATL base. You can't have one union representing pilots from all the different bases -- can't be done. Yet DPA would represent all of them. Not right.
Yeah, that's working so well at APA isn't it? The guy who pandered the most got the most votes. Good plan.
Exact same analogy goes for my ATL base. You can't have one union representing pilots from all the different bases -- can't be done. Yet DPA would represent all of them. Not right.
Yeah, that's working so well at APA isn't it? The guy who pandered the most got the most votes. Good plan.
Analogy time? Yes. Two football teams are playing each other in a game, the current ALPA system has 1 man as head coach of both teams.
Now people question the conflict of interest. The rebuttal? Well if you have a problem with that then how can all of the players on the same team be coached by 1 guy?? You'd have to have coaches for each player.
Well they do. There is a DC, OC, Quarterbacks coach, wide reciever coach, special team coach and so on. But they're all on the same team and they report to 1 coach.
Who in the end shouldn't also be coaching or looking out for the financial interests of the other team.... or as I said earlier, that head coach can't serve two masters. He can't be concerned about both teams.
If DALPA wanted to separate from ALPA and let me vote for the MEC Chair I'd support DALPA.
07-29-2011, 06:43 AM
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07-29-2011, 06:45 AM
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07-29-2011, 06:47 AM
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Some are starting to see the DPA as a threat. Not necessarily a threat to ALPA, but more of a threat to the Delta pilots. That's why things are getting heated. What follows is just my opinion.
At a minimum, a representational battle undermines our Reps in contract negotiations. That will torpedo Contract 2012.
Then there is the issue of who the DPA has aligned itself with for its own legal advice. What has happened at US Air has been a disaster for those pilots and has cost each individual pilot hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages. It has also harmed Delta pilots, since the underpaid US Air guys are part of our peer group. Like a gift that keeps on giving, US Air is able to use its low wages as a competitive cost advantage against Delta.
Further, by focusing at ALPA, instead of what ALPA does, the DPA fails to offer a clear vision for how they would do things any differently. We don't need "cheaper" as much as we need "better."
I'm a harsh critic of ALPA's economic scope policies and that will forever make me an outsider to our MEC. Despite my frustration and the fact those guys hate me, we are still a lot better off inside ALPA than splintered off into an irrelevant little student council of a union. Our PROFESSION faces serious threats from cabotage, the four week cruise pilot concept, and perhaps even over reliance on automation to replace us at some point in the future. To combat these sort of Federal and International issues, we need to feed our 900lb Gorilla.
Ironically, JetBlue's management presentation is convincing evidence of just how much ALPA benefits us!
At a minimum, a representational battle undermines our Reps in contract negotiations. That will torpedo Contract 2012.
Then there is the issue of who the DPA has aligned itself with for its own legal advice. What has happened at US Air has been a disaster for those pilots and has cost each individual pilot hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages. It has also harmed Delta pilots, since the underpaid US Air guys are part of our peer group. Like a gift that keeps on giving, US Air is able to use its low wages as a competitive cost advantage against Delta.
Further, by focusing at ALPA, instead of what ALPA does, the DPA fails to offer a clear vision for how they would do things any differently. We don't need "cheaper" as much as we need "better."
I'm a harsh critic of ALPA's economic scope policies and that will forever make me an outsider to our MEC. Despite my frustration and the fact those guys hate me, we are still a lot better off inside ALPA than splintered off into an irrelevant little student council of a union. Our PROFESSION faces serious threats from cabotage, the four week cruise pilot concept, and perhaps even over reliance on automation to replace us at some point in the future. To combat these sort of Federal and International issues, we need to feed our 900lb Gorilla.
Ironically, JetBlue's management presentation is convincing evidence of just how much ALPA benefits us!
07-29-2011, 06:47 AM
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07-29-2011, 06:53 AM
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As a big fan of the L&G crack, even I must admit that we've gotten a little mudslingy in the last week or so. So, since I havent kept my ear to the ground lately, are there any rumors floating around out there that might have legs? ie: 717s, mergers, acquisitions, fleet renewal, 2012 summer flying, alpa opener, etc.
I think maybe the root of it all is that it's summer, late july, summer flying is in full force and rumors just don't seem to be trickling out.
SWA guys btw think the 717 sale is back on after it sounded for a while SWA really wanted to take them after all. We'll see.
The other problem is when you talk 717s you end up talking about 100 seaters and when you talk about 100 seaters you end up talking about 76 seaters and scope sales and when you talk about 100 seat scope sales so that airlines flying 76 seaters will be handed the 100 seat version of their airplane then you inevitably end up where we are.
I'm not telling moderators what to do...
.... but maybe the DPA thread can make it's way back to the Majors section? Or maybe there should just be a Delta section like the CAL/UAL Merger section. Thoughts?
FREE L&G! FREE L&G! FREE L&G!
07-29-2011, 06:58 AM
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A Bar quote that starts off with "The GDP..." standby... I'll need a cup of coffee.
Well said Bar.
Well said Bar.
The GDP reports today tell the story. Delta's planning for lowered economic estimates, conserving cash and paying down debt. That's good for us, since the $400,000,000.00 that would have gone to debt service is now staying on the bottom line and contributing to profitability.
Delta's only going to buy what it needs and it will not be for growth, not until there is some market to grow into. It looks to me like the RFP will be scaled back and focus more on 757 replacements, because they have to.
The market is pricing our stock based on what they think is going to happen to our customer base.
Delta's only going to buy what it needs and it will not be for growth, not until there is some market to grow into. It looks to me like the RFP will be scaled back and focus more on 757 replacements, because they have to.
The market is pricing our stock based on what they think is going to happen to our customer base.
As far as action on the ALPA front, that we know about, much will hinge on the results of the upcoming pilot survey. Our Chairman seems to want to facilitate the will of the pilots.
IMHO, that means the real action will be here, on this board. It also means we need to strive to be very rational and mature when we participate in the upcoming pilot contract survey. If the consensus view is ridiculous, we could find ourselves in an endless contract struggle (like American).
Right now, we are at the top of the heap for airlines in our position (debt, fleet age, market). Other airlines have used our JPWA to pattern up to near our levels, but no one has passed us allowing us to use them as a justification for higher rates. (getting AirTran up to SWA helps, but SWA is a better financial position than we are and has fewer risks in the domestic market). We need United to do well, we need American to do well and we need US Air to fix their mess (probably hopeless from a labor standpoint).
My crystal ball says anything "exciting" is not going to be good. There are near universal denial from our MEC that 100 seat flying is up for grabs, but they also steadfastly refuse to put that position in writing (particularly prior to the contract survey). If given the choice between stagnation and crisis, I'll take stagnation.
IMHO, that means the real action will be here, on this board. It also means we need to strive to be very rational and mature when we participate in the upcoming pilot contract survey. If the consensus view is ridiculous, we could find ourselves in an endless contract struggle (like American).
Right now, we are at the top of the heap for airlines in our position (debt, fleet age, market). Other airlines have used our JPWA to pattern up to near our levels, but no one has passed us allowing us to use them as a justification for higher rates. (getting AirTran up to SWA helps, but SWA is a better financial position than we are and has fewer risks in the domestic market). We need United to do well, we need American to do well and we need US Air to fix their mess (probably hopeless from a labor standpoint).
My crystal ball says anything "exciting" is not going to be good. There are near universal denial from our MEC that 100 seat flying is up for grabs, but they also steadfastly refuse to put that position in writing (particularly prior to the contract survey). If given the choice between stagnation and crisis, I'll take stagnation.
07-29-2011, 06:59 AM
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