Flagship_dxer, whoa there...gonna stop you.
1) Our class, there was 1 who went to the CRJ side; next class: 2 went over; following class - out of 10, I think 2 stayed on ERJ, and 8 went over to the CRJ. They base you on operational needs. It's not based on who is smart and who is dumb. When the OCC Mgr said that he could have hired 20 DXers and only picked 8 EXPERIENCED DXers, he was full of sh*t. This was the same guy who said I was making a tragic mistake to leave XJT to become an SOC Duty Mgr....ummm, yeah right.
2) Why are the CRJ DXers happier? Oh wait, could it be because they get DL, UA & AA benefits. The ERJ get only UA benefits. One of the ERJ leads there mentioned, "You have UA benefits, what else do you need?" Jesus Christ, we're based in ATL, wouldn't it be nice to have flight benefits for the company who has the WORLD'S LARGEST AIRLINE HUB AT THE WORLD BUSIEST AIRPORT?????? Also, it doesn't help if you have union negotiations that are stalled, to the point that UA is threatening to withhold flying until it is solved.
3) Every airline has their own tribal knowledge. They all have a spelled out policy & procedures manual that approved by the FAA. That's what makes them unique. Guarantee you that UA, AA, DL, WN all have the "approved method" per the manual to do something, but DXers have come up with a "shortcut" to get the job done that meets every airline's three parameters: Is it safe?, Is it legal? and finally, Is it efficient? Think of those questions as a tripod. You knock one leg out, and the other two fall down.
4) 80 releases? Yes, when we were there the average morning desk did 80-85 releases, and JA'ing was the norm. But they have come up with a normal staffing model, and from my internal sources, I'm hearing that the average releases for a morning shift is between 55-65 releases. There is no more overtime (for the time being); no more JA'ing (so no more crying when people get JA'd).
I'm super excited though!