acl65pilot

That is the only way they can get the 190's the need. Would be a great move for all of those guys at B6.

agsbill

OK...what is B6??

I had a B4 bag in the USAF

jetjockey

Is B6 JetBlue?

I had heard the same thing, from a friend who was on a flight with Gerry-ya know one of those....

But I was told that JetBlue would be a good aquisition, after exiting bankruptcy, because of the JFK terminal and also the fact that they are a nonunion work force.

Who knows what will happen, I just hope that Delta can emerge as a stand alone! I bypassed a couple of months ago and will not even consider going back until the picture becomes clearer.

JJ

dudemize

Sweet dude! I have a 2001 KTM 640 LC4, too bad I never get a chance to ride it.

CVG767A

The JetBlue rumor is rampant at Delta right now, usually in the form of " I know a guy who knows a guy who had Gerry Grinstein/ Jim Whitehurst/ Joe Kolshack (pick one) on the jump seat, who said we want to buy JB after we come out of BK. I'll believe it when I see it.

It would be nice to get out of that tenement of a terminal at JFK, though.

fireman0174

Got my first airline job in 1962 working at that terminal for PAA. Summer job between semesters. It was one heck of a terminal back then.

CVG767A

I saw an documentary from the early 1960s on the subject of recent advances in transportation. Most of the show was about the interstate highway system, but a part featured air travel advances, including that terminal. The concept of pulling the aircraft beneath the roof to load and unload (via stairs) was pretty advanced for it's day.

That being said, the years haven't been kind to that terminal. Delta has sunk far too much money into it, after years of neglect by Pan Am, but it remains dilapidated and ill suited to our operations. The only way to fix it would be to level it and start over, IMHO.

bla bla bla

Ok should I get the ktm 525, or crf 450x ?
Im leaning towards the crf a little, what do you ktm riders have to say about them?

isgau8

Hi Woxof,

Signed up just a few days ago to contribute to the forum after reading your post. Hopefully, I can offer some info to amplify that others have already given.

Delta as stand-alone:
Clearly the best option for at least the near term and IMO the most likely scenario. The employees have sacrificed billions in order to assist in saving the company and those sacrifices are beginning to yield results. I share your level of confidence in management. However, there has been some serious looks in the mirror in the last few years by our management team. Grinstein was on the board while Mullins team ran the company into the ground with bad decisions. Grinstein takes responsibility for lack of action during this time and will not hold back the profanity when describing Leo and the others who woked with him.
Fortunately, they have put some people in places where I think they have been best able to perform. Jim Whitehurst, the COO, has spoken on a number of occassions with employees in various forums regarding a variety of topics. What is noteworthy about Whitehurst, besides being only 39, is they way he speaks regarding the competitive posture of the company. He at a minimum talks about Delta being an aggressive, proactive competitor. This is contrary to the "ignore the problem and it will go away" approach of past years. An example of this is Whitehurst claiming to no longer yielding "an inch" to AirTran as Delta has done in the past. AirTran has done well in ATL in part because Delta has failed to recognize them as a viable entinty.
As for Ed Bastian, Delta CFO, I know even less of him. While no doubt a smart guy, Bastian strikes me as a numbers guy. Which I feel makes him a less attractive candidate to replace Grinstein as CEO. I have never been confident with those who are concerned with "sortie counts." I of course could be waaayy off regarding Bastian.
Glen Hauenstein who is in charge of network planning and revenue management made good changes in how Delta assets are being used. For example, Delta is no longer flying 777s from ATL to MCO and have pulled other long range (777, 767ER, Etc.) aircraft off the domestic schedule and put them where they should be, flying higher yield passengers to international destinations.
Bottom line, management has begun to demonstrate a decision process that seems more in line with what should be done rather than what should not be done.
Merger:
A buyout by USAirways is the worst possible thing that I can think of and is a huge threat to the employees of Delta Airlines. I for one think Parker, and those backing him, are smoking a giant Bob Marley if they think this is going to go through. I believe, and hope, that this plan wil die at the hands of the official creditors commitee. At a minimum, the buyout plan should take a well deserved bullet at the hands of the Department of Justice.
Should it go through, thousands of Delta employees can expect to lose their jobs as USAirways gives up assets to satisfy DOJ requirements. "May have to sell one of the shuttles." Give me a break. What will have to be sold to satisfy the DOJ is way beyond the shuttle and a few gates at Charlotte.
Additionally, Parker fails to realize that there are few or no Delta employees (no pilots for sure) that want this deal to pass. What would ensue is labor strife on a scale the industry has not yet seen. Consequently, the entire entity could fail taking down AWA, USAirways and Delta employees all together. The people backing Parker do not care about that if they can still grab the short term gains and run away with the money.
As for a merger with another company, there are certainly those that fit much better. Remember that the many federal officials think there is not enough competiton (unbelievable) in the airline industry and likely will look unfavorably on any merger of 2 large carrirers let alone USA/Delta. In any merger scenario, some people are going to pay the price for the plan.

As for leaving a job one has now to go to a job that may or may not pay off? That is a tough call. If Delta exits on its own, I think they will do well and will likely have a modest rate of hiring for some time. If USAirways succeeds, I think there will be a giant sucking hole in the industry after ALL of the combined company fails.
At minumum, be in a position to hit the go button on applying. Or, be prepared to make a difficult choice should you be offered a job if you have already applied and interviewed. All of us should know much more in a few weeks as deadlines for the buyout offer draw near.

Good Luck

NGINEWHOISWHAT

Excellent post, isgau8. Excellent.