Delta Pilot

OK, this isn't necessarily a Louisville topic, but ...

I'm sitting at Washington Reagan National airport at the Delta gates, and just watched an MD88 pilot unload the strollers, etc. from the aircraft so that passengers wouldn't have to wait. What a nice gesture from the pilot to both the customers and the ramp workers. Delta seems really short-handed since the Northwest merger, and it's great to see the pilot go well above and beyond his job to make the experience better for customers. Well done!

That was certainly a pretty cool "above and beyond" gesture...HAD to be an "original" Delta pilot though. Those malcontents on the Northworst side of that merger would have never done that...Trust me, I worked with them in a professional capacity for over 25 years.

[Robin Garr]

That was certainly a pretty cool "above and beyond" gesture...HAD to be an "original" Delta pilot though. Those malcontents on the Northworst side of that merger would have never done that...Trust me, I worked with them in a professional capacity for over 25 years.

Hey, Steve, what did you do with NWA? I have a very good buddy who's a Northwest Purser with a 40-year pin and a flight attendant union activist, and she's got an awful lot of pilot jokes. ("What separates the scum of the earth from the rest of humankind? The cockpit door." And so it goes ... )

That was certainly a pretty cool "above and beyond" gesture...HAD to be an "original" Delta pilot though. Those malcontents on the Northworst side of that merger would have never done that...Trust me, I worked with them in a professional capacity for over 25 years.

Hey, Steve, what did you do with NWA? I have a very good buddy who's a Northwest Purser with a 40-year pin and a flight attendant union activist, and she's got an awful lot of pilot jokes. ("What separates the scum of the earth from the rest of humankind? The cockpit door." And so it goes ... )

Robin,

I was a air traffic controller and thus worked with their pilots on a daily basis...That and my old neighborhood in MSP was a NWA "slum"...I had neighbors who were baggage gorillas, mechanics, pilots, flight attendants, you name it.

If there was ever a book written on the "perfect storm" when it comes to labor/management meltdowns, then NWA would be on the cover....It really has it's roots with a very nasty merger with Republic in the late 80's and then the bottom really fell out in the mid-90's due to an extremely incompetent management team (beginning in the board room and working it's way down to the operational level). The rank and file are not without blame and I could relate many-many instances where they let job dissatisfaction get in the way of professionalism. For most of my career as a controller we had access to the cockpit jump seat for free transportation (a program discontinued after 9/11)...The union called it a "training program", the FAA called it a "conflict of interest" and fought to end it at every turn.. The controllers ? We just called it a good deal. As a result of this program I flew "up front" on virtually every U.S. carrier...Most of them, Northwest included, I flew on many many times (10 trips to Alaska on NWA alone). The NWA personnel I came in contact with on these occasions (pilots, flight attendants and operations personnel) were among the most malcontent individuals I've ever been around...Not that I put 100% of the blame on them mind you.

[Robin Garr]

If there was ever a book written on the "perfect storm" when it comes to labor/management meltdowns, then NWA would be on the cover....It really has it's roots with a very nasty merger with Republic in the late 80's and then the bottom really fell out in the mid-90's due to an extremely incompetent management team (beginning in the board room and working it's way down to the operational level).

Hooboy! I'll let the rule of discretion about private communications draw a veil over the stories I've heard, Steve, but it sounds like I've heard the same stories you've seen.

One that's public record, and it absolutely blows my mind that the media made nothing of it: Virtually all of the NWA board and top officials sold out their NWA stock, typically in the range of eight figures EACH, within months before the bankruptcy filing. All was properly disclosed in public, and as I said, the media never chose to make it a story. But wow, it looked funny.

And of course Dougie ("Stealand") got a huge bonus in thanks for breaking the mechanics' union and leaving the pilot and flight-attendant unions in a shambles. I pretty much refused to fly NWA in support of my pal, and now I don't feel very good about Delta any more.

Robin,

I pretty much refused to fly on NWA the last 5 or 6 years of my career...in large part (but not exclusively)for the very reasons you mentioned (some of my concerns were safety related)...Our NATCA local (myself included) spent many an hour in sub zero weather walking the picket line in support of those wrench-twisters. All for naught it would appear.

The part that got me...and would get most taxpayers, regardless of their political leanings was when NWA raped the state of MN for (I think it was) 292 meeeee-lllllion doh-lars for a new maintanance facilty in Duluth with the promise of (I think) 900 jobs. They built the facility but never brought the jobs. To my knowledge the place is now a big empty barn and the money is nowhere in sight.

Fricking ass hammers.

<edited to remove mystery and intrigue>

[Robin Garr]

It'll tighten your jaw. ... "black helicopters"

We must dine and drink together soon!

The part that got me...and would get most taxpayers, regardless of their political leanings was when NWA raped the state of MN for (I think it was) 292 meeeee-lllllion doh-lars for a new maintanance facilty in Duluth with the promise of (I think) 900 jobs. They built the facility but never brought the jobs. To my knowledge the place is now a big empty barn and the money is nowhere in sight.:

As someone who is stuck on Delta many hours per month, and really don't hate it, I'll stay out of this discussion. But, re: the tax deals that get cut on these jobs - they rarely pay off unless the jobs happen, so the state probably cut a huge deal it never had to meet.

As someone who is stuck on Delta many hours per month, and really don't hate it,

T.P,

You can do a lot worse than Delta when it comes to airlines. Speaking from both a (formerly) professional as well as a (formerly) frequent flier perspective I've always thought they did a pretty good job...Which is why this merger with NWA causes me so much consternation. Right now they are still pretty much two airlines operating under one banner...that will change as time goes on. One can only hope that the Delta way of running a railroad rubs off on the NWA employees as opposed to vice versa.

Steve,

I agree about Delta - I think they do a nice job, for the most part. Of course, flying out of Louisville, we end up on feeders more often than not, so it's hard to judge Delta by any of the 50-75 passenger aircraft we fly on so much.

I've had limited experience with Northwest, but I do hate the aircraft they fly from most smaller venues (DC9s?). Ancient and uncomfortable. Have done the Asia thing on Northwest and it was pretty comfortable, but I'm more likely to go with Korean AIr when it's available (business class on KA is a treat!).

[Robin Garr]

As someone who is stuck on Delta many hours per month, and really don't hate it, I'll stay out of this discussion.

Just for the record, TP, I've been a Delta FF (although certainly not at your level) for many years, and in combination with an old job where I flew a lot plus the Delta Platinum Amex piling 'em on, I've probably got about 400K miles in the bank, which we really ought to use one of these years. I don't hate Delta.

From some of the stories my pal tells me, though, I'll be happier when they finally fully merge the airlines. And out of loyalty I'll support her in the wish that the flight attendants win AFA representation. Delta is certainly working as hard to keep that from happening as Gannett did when some of the news staff tried to organize the newsroom shortly before the sale. Woooeeeeee ...

Yeah, Robin, sorry if I made it sound that way. You merely said you didn't feel good about Delta anymore, not that you hated the airline! There are sure cases in life where we don't feel great about a business partner but for any variety of reasons need to continue to do business with them. The only deal-breaker for me is if I think someone (or a company) is behaving unethically, and I don't have much patience for that. You may feel that way about the union issue - and I'm not asking a question that you have to answer! Besides, I'd rather debate union representation with you over a glass of wine (your selection, of course!).

[Robin Garr]

over a glass of wine (your selection, of course!).

Mmmm, wine!

Us guys really do need to get together again ...

TP, Robin, etc

Ehhhhhhhhhhh just to confirm what I said about Northwest in my previous posts....This from the wire services this morning (10/22). The italics are mine. I'm sure there is WAY more to this than the story tells. As this plane flew through one of the sectors I used to work, I'll make a point of calling some old friends and getting the entire scoop.

MINNEAPOLIS - Federal officials say a Northwest Airlines jet overflew the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles before crew members discovered their mistake. The plane landed safely Wednesday evening, and none of the 147 passengers and crew were injured. The National Transportation Safety Board says the Airbus A320 was flying from San Diego to Minneapolis and lost radio contact with controllers before 7 p.m.
The NTSB says the jet flew about 150 miles past the Minneapolis airport before communications were re-established at 8:14 p.m. The Federal Aviation Administration says the crew told authorities they became distracted during a heated discussion over airline policy and lost track of where they were. Airline officials didn't immediately return calls.

This is developing story; check back for updates.

Oh now, is that just ducky? or maybe being Minnesota, it's just loony.