80ktsClamp

You need a better understanding of the situation.... The 739s are replacing 757s, 767s (yep), and some A320s. They are not slated to be growth aircraft.

groundstop

New reserve availability list is a HUGE improvement and long overdue. I always thought the old list, not being able to see more than 1 day in advance was a real pain. iCrew just needs to be fixed so it doesn't use 1/2 my screen. So many of the functions should be able to use the whole browser instead of fwd/back buttons. Old technology, I know.

80ktsClamp

It reduces cockpit volume to a loud recirc fan 757 or A320... The VGs are required in yurop due to the cockpit volume of the non modded 737.

Bill Lumberg

Big words? Big profits, so it better have BIG gains. 4000+ pilots agree, and more will join if disappointed. Please don't ask what "dissapointed" means. Show us the MONEY or they will get bumped. Good enough?

tsquare

Ahhh the old doughnut threat again.. No definition of anything and a hollow threat about what some will do. What are big gains? What is a weak offer? Stop beating your chest and answer the question.

Cogf16

I flew F-16's out of Alpena many times. It's a 9000 ft long R/W used by the ANG for (mainly) summer training.

TheManager

Notice that the any airline that has done better than DAL is left out of this comparison, as always.

Even an airline that has been through.... wait for it.... BK just like DAL/NWA.


Don't believe me. Check out Hawaiian. They have smoked us in post BK pay, benefit and work rule performance. And, no. Despite what slow and alfa love to try and sell, it was not a "sham" bankkruptcy that they went through.

Cogf16

No way the Colts pay the $28 million for a 36 yr old QB who they're unsure if he'll ever play again. He'll be released and picked up quickly by AZ, Mia or Wash probably. If they can trade him without the massive cap hit, they will but no way they pay that dough for him.

Sink r8

Yes, I do, but I'm not sure who can provide this enlightenment. Like you, I have also read that the 739s' are replacing an unspecified number of 757's, 767's, and A320's. From this, I can't conclude whether there would be a net gain. From the post about retiring only 40 757's, I can't make specific conclusions about how many total airframes leave the fleet. From the post that put the total number of retired A/C at 85, I can't really conclude that the right answer is "15 growth", because it's all about the timing. And it doesn't factor in the 30 options. And it's forecasting into a future that will mystify all crystal ball operators.

So I don't think anyone on this board knows where this is going. The company will have tons of deliveries, and tons of retirments, and they can tweak retirements so as to tune up growth rates (including to the negative) however they wish.

I still don't quite understand why Toga was puking over the assumption of 100 900's coming, and (presumably) 40 757's going out.

Bucking Bar

The Apple we left on the ground was scope, is scope and will be scope. This will continue until we all agree that we should perform our own flying.

Small jet scope in our JPWA was literally left over for last. In some areas the mash up was so nonsensical that it was obvious no one really considered it. For example, under our contract we gained flow down rights to ASA and Comair. Yet, that was not the intent of any MEC and behind the scenes resolution took place.

Then we had a 76 seat scope grievance settlement over conflicting language which was apparently so ill considered that the parties came away with differing views on their agreement. Call it what you want, but when management redefines our contract through an act of non compliance, it is a scope failure. (and I worry about the JV now for similar reasons, management is in compliance with the agreement, but only because the terms were made so flexible that anything is in compliance for now ... the JV is a very good thing, I just worry about whether it is going to be complied with)

More spoiled fruit existed in the fact our Compass question was not answered in the JPWA. It was the right time to set our course for recapture of large small jet flying. Eventually Compass, which was bought and paid for in mainline pilot jobs, was given away.

Your second question will be answered belowWho said you'll get a vote?

Changes to our contract, including those I referenced above can happen via grievance settlement, or memorandum of understanding. Our Joint Venture's wording explicitly allows for modification which avoids membership ratification.

Egregious examples exist at other MEC's where Section 1 job protection provisions all but disappeared on the basis of an LOA signed by a Grievance Committee Chairman (not even MEC Chair). ALPA has learned how to get things done without anyone knowing until it is far too late to fix it. I believe our current MEC is actually MORE trustworthy than previous administrations have been.

A cursory review of our Company's financial records reveals there is good money to be made in outsourcing. When I brought this to the attention of one of the insiders, his response was to challenge the numbers. (Hey, Delta Air Lines reported them, not me).

Our Company and our Union (in my opinion) remain fundamentally wrong in the following areas and these errors are going to drive bad strategy and bad results. These are:

• Is narrow body domestic flying a core part of Delta's business? If so, why do we outsource it to a producer who management deems inferior?
• If 47% of our profits come from the 21% of our revenues that we subcontract, how much more could we make without redundant, parasitic, management teams, maintenance operations, scheduling, training, lessors, lessees, etc... ?
• Why does ALPA think it is a good idea to outsource work which has better profit margins than the work we perform? How does that enhance job security?

The wrong answers to these questions drive outsourcing. Does management really believe Mesa & Mesaba are better run than Delta? If 76 seat outsourcing is good, wouldn't 100 seat outsourcing be better?

I don't think Delta's accountants considered APC scope debates when they tallied up our performance. I think the numbers are what they are. Those numbers show either "outsourcing is a good thing" or they show "that is a business we need to do ourselves."

Until we get our collective head right on what "collective" means (ie unity) our "collective bargaining" results are going to be less than they could be.