Ftrooppilot

POSTED EARLIER THIS MONTH: Emphasis added today.

"This is bankruptcy, reorganization, restructuring, implementation of new programs, consolidated operations, maintenance and training, elimination of management redundancy, . . . ."

Besides reducing crew costs Delta wants to eliminate redundant overhead costs incurred with multiple regional operations.

dirtysidedown

Come on, everyone who works at a regional knows it it is a sucky dead end job. You people don't have to come on here and explain it every day how sh!tty it is, it's like rubbing salt in a wound. It will never change so get out if you don't like it, i did.

Boomer

How many 12 year Captains does Delta have at Compass and GoJetsss?

When Pinnacle is done parking the 50 fleet, what will be the lowest Captain on property... 2003 hire maybe? 1999?

If every Pinnacle pilot is topped out paywise, the million dollar savings you allude to will probably be on the other side of the equation. That's a big reason why Comair is gone.

Ftrooppilot

Boomer: you may be right about the "money part" . Some managerial accountant has calculated all those costs and determined what (if any) savings are possible. They also have calculated and added the savings gained by eliminating redundant overhead costs experienced with multiple regional support. IMHO money savings are secondary to having Control of resources where Delta can unilaterally make decisions without 'negotiating" with other regional airlines. Trauma (new TA /Contract) once every four years is much more palatable then every 12-14 months when dealing with multiple regionals.

A good example is the XJT "catfight" in progress. Imagine Delta management reading the "XJT Whipsaw thread." With approximately 60 CRJ900 and 700s operated for Delta (more to be added ? ) they are probably wondering who is in charge (control) and how is the outcome going to affect our customer service / safety / costs, etc. ?

My favorite "XJT Whipsaw" post comparing XJT to the recent Delta coordinated Pinnacle TA is: "No way dude, XJT has way too much self respect to let that happen. They will burn it down for the sake of industry!"

Saabs

Over Compass and GoJets we won't have an advantage as we are more expensive than both of them per our MEC. Over expressjet and Skywest we are cheaper. Our captains top out at $87 this year and on year six it's around $92.

Right or wrong, good or bad, we aren't the cheapest but we are now cheaper than some.

Boomer

You may be right, but if so, it indicates that Delta is reversing a decade of choices. Going back to purchasing ASA and Comair in 1999, the Comair strike in 2001, and promising to never let one regional partner get that large. Well, except for SkyWest.

Now it looks like Delta is setting up Pinnacle to be the next ASA (sell it at a loss) and Skywest to be the next Comair (wake up one day and wonder why 60% of your regional lift is grounded).

Too bad Delta's experiments in "being thrifty" have caused so much damage to the families of employees at Big Sky, ACA/Indy, Skyway, Freedom, Comair, Mesaba, Colgan, Regional Elite, etc, etc...

Ftrooppilot

[ . . . that Delta is reversing a decade of choices. Going back to purchasing ASA and Comair in 1999, the Comair strike in 2001, and promising to never let one regional partner get that large. Well, except for SkyWest. Now it looks like Delta is setting up Pinnacle to be the next ASA (sell it at a loss) ..[/QUOTE]

Times (decades of choices) change. Regional "seats flown" will increase as efficient airplanes like the 900 fly more traditional "major" routes. The cost per seat mile is much lower especially if the load factors are kept high.

IMHO Delta will no longer treat Pinnacle ( new name expected soon) as an "arms length contractor." They will "bring them into the fold" and emphasize their "Deltaness" rather then their separate identity.

Looking ahead five years there is a persistent forecast of a pilot shortage. Delta wants stability, control, (even motivation) among regional pilots who become a steady stream of well trained experienced pilots ready for movement to Major flying. I know it sounds like "motherhood, apple pie and the flag" but it's something for management to aim for.

Yes. I am an optimist on the future of "Pinnacle." Maybe we should have a "serious" thread on suggestions for a new name for Pinnacle.