naunga
New Member
Found this on Flightinfo.com. I don't know how legit it is, but it was thought provoking nevertheless.
Delta Memo From Management.
What I find interesting is that they are basically saying that by slashing pilot pay Delta will be able to compete with SWA or AirTran.
The problem I see with this approach is that SWA and AirTran, while they do pay less than Delta, operate on a different business model than Delta does.
So, just cutting costs in terms of pilot wages is not going to immediately make Delta into a Southwest (i.e. profitable). The tragedy is that even though Southwest pays it's pilots less money they (I suspect) pay their executives less (compared to Delta) as well.
There are so many other things that would have to change in order to get Delta to run like a Southwest that I have to question to reasoning of cutting pilot pay.
In his letter the writer also seems to imply that Delta provides something to consumers that SWA and AirTran don't. Forgive my ignorance as a consumer, but how does that figure? When I fly I want the plane to safely take me from point A to point B, comfortably, depart and arrive at specified times, and at the lowest possible cost. I don't fly first class (unless I'm ungraded for free). I don't care if I'm on a region jet or a wide body. I just want a cheap seat on an aircraft going where I need to go. I really don't even care about a meal or even beverage service unless I'm going overseas or coast to coast. I mean no disrespect to any hardworking Delta pilot, but I would like to know what Delta can provide to me that Southwest and AirTran can't?
Going back to the original premise of this post, tell me how cutting pilot pay at Delta will encourage me to fly on Delta?
Will I be able to get a flight from Cleveland to Atlanta for under $250? Again I'm not one of those people who value first class. Personally I think it's a ripoff. Will Delta give me a free flight credit if I cancel my plans, like Southwest? Will Delta be putting larger seats in coach? That actually might get me on Delta. A $300 flight in a first class type seat. My guess is that by cutting pilot pay, all that will do is allow the CPA's in the company to make Delta look better on the books, but do nothing for making consumers think twice about spending their hard earned money on Southwest or AirTran. Again, this isn't meant to dis Delta, who by all rights is a fine company, but they operate on a model that is not acceptable to the general public in this age of The Wal-Mart Economy. People nowadays make less money than just a couple of years ago. People also have less vacation time, and vacations are starting to cost more and more. We consumers need to stretch every dollar as far as we can. You don't go to the store and buy brandname chedder cheese when the store brand tastes just as good and costs 50% less. You can't. I concede that some people buy a product only based on the brandname, but at some point people will abandon brand loyalty in order to get a better deal.
Believe me I can somewhat sympathize with your pain. I'm in IT, and just 5 years ago IT people were golden. Then IT really started to decline, and now we're not just facing pay cuts and no movement within the company, but we're actually facing the loss of our jobs to people overseas who will do them cheaper (albeit perhaps not better). And more freightening than that is that fact that should I loose my job, I go into a non-existent job market. So then my choice becomes re-tool or starve. I went from 15% raises a year for 3 years to 3% if I'm lucky, and so have my co-workers.
We're looking at an economy that has fundamentally changed. It no longer functions as it did a few years ago. Whether it's because of 9/11 or because of the natural evoluation of any large system, it's happening now. The problem is that management (in most cases) has not accepted or even recognized this change. So they continue to operate their business on models that just are becoming outdated, and it's the guy busting his ass from 9-5 to feed his family who suffers for their ignorance.
Let me close with this: I state right here and now, that I as a consumer do not support the idea of cutting pilots pay at Delta or any airline. The logic of, "everyone else is paying their pilots less than we are" is invalid. Those pilots at SWA were getting that pay from the get go. They understand that there are intangible benefits that they get by working for SWA. Delta, UA, AA, need to change the way that they do business period. Evolve or be doomed to extinction, but...if you don't care for your employees who will be there to share the vision of the new company.
So what do you think?
Naunga
Delta Memo From Management.
What I find interesting is that they are basically saying that by slashing pilot pay Delta will be able to compete with SWA or AirTran.
The problem I see with this approach is that SWA and AirTran, while they do pay less than Delta, operate on a different business model than Delta does.
So, just cutting costs in terms of pilot wages is not going to immediately make Delta into a Southwest (i.e. profitable). The tragedy is that even though Southwest pays it's pilots less money they (I suspect) pay their executives less (compared to Delta) as well.
There are so many other things that would have to change in order to get Delta to run like a Southwest that I have to question to reasoning of cutting pilot pay.
In his letter the writer also seems to imply that Delta provides something to consumers that SWA and AirTran don't. Forgive my ignorance as a consumer, but how does that figure? When I fly I want the plane to safely take me from point A to point B, comfortably, depart and arrive at specified times, and at the lowest possible cost. I don't fly first class (unless I'm ungraded for free). I don't care if I'm on a region jet or a wide body. I just want a cheap seat on an aircraft going where I need to go. I really don't even care about a meal or even beverage service unless I'm going overseas or coast to coast. I mean no disrespect to any hardworking Delta pilot, but I would like to know what Delta can provide to me that Southwest and AirTran can't?
Going back to the original premise of this post, tell me how cutting pilot pay at Delta will encourage me to fly on Delta?
Will I be able to get a flight from Cleveland to Atlanta for under $250? Again I'm not one of those people who value first class. Personally I think it's a ripoff. Will Delta give me a free flight credit if I cancel my plans, like Southwest? Will Delta be putting larger seats in coach? That actually might get me on Delta. A $300 flight in a first class type seat. My guess is that by cutting pilot pay, all that will do is allow the CPA's in the company to make Delta look better on the books, but do nothing for making consumers think twice about spending their hard earned money on Southwest or AirTran. Again, this isn't meant to dis Delta, who by all rights is a fine company, but they operate on a model that is not acceptable to the general public in this age of The Wal-Mart Economy. People nowadays make less money than just a couple of years ago. People also have less vacation time, and vacations are starting to cost more and more. We consumers need to stretch every dollar as far as we can. You don't go to the store and buy brandname chedder cheese when the store brand tastes just as good and costs 50% less. You can't. I concede that some people buy a product only based on the brandname, but at some point people will abandon brand loyalty in order to get a better deal.
Believe me I can somewhat sympathize with your pain. I'm in IT, and just 5 years ago IT people were golden. Then IT really started to decline, and now we're not just facing pay cuts and no movement within the company, but we're actually facing the loss of our jobs to people overseas who will do them cheaper (albeit perhaps not better). And more freightening than that is that fact that should I loose my job, I go into a non-existent job market. So then my choice becomes re-tool or starve. I went from 15% raises a year for 3 years to 3% if I'm lucky, and so have my co-workers.
We're looking at an economy that has fundamentally changed. It no longer functions as it did a few years ago. Whether it's because of 9/11 or because of the natural evoluation of any large system, it's happening now. The problem is that management (in most cases) has not accepted or even recognized this change. So they continue to operate their business on models that just are becoming outdated, and it's the guy busting his ass from 9-5 to feed his family who suffers for their ignorance.
Let me close with this: I state right here and now, that I as a consumer do not support the idea of cutting pilots pay at Delta or any airline. The logic of, "everyone else is paying their pilots less than we are" is invalid. Those pilots at SWA were getting that pay from the get go. They understand that there are intangible benefits that they get by working for SWA. Delta, UA, AA, need to change the way that they do business period. Evolve or be doomed to extinction, but...if you don't care for your employees who will be there to share the vision of the new company.
So what do you think?
Naunga