Delta Pilots

We have been told by a rep there is a rumor going around about Delta pilots going on strike...weren't told when just that they might


anyone flying Delta soon reconfirm your flights!!

My ex works for Delta.  They will strike on the 14th/15th of April and the company would be out of business by the 16th.  The Pilot's have already gone through the "cooling off period", so who knows what will happen.

Good advice MeShell

Info I last got...though I need to check again (soon)...the 14th/15th date is tied to some court deadline related to the company's banko hearing, but that the pilots would decide when/if to strike at a time of their choosing (not necessarily on the 14th/15th but possibly as a result of depending on how things shake out).  Bottom line, until the word from the union actually goes out, it's all rumor.  Sort of like what Maddierose said, anything can happen.

In defense of the pilots, they already gave up 1/3 of their pay a couple years ago (or so) to keep the company out of banko, and well...

What's left for them to give up that would satisfy the money men?  Their pensions.

(And yet an endless succession of CEOS there have bailed with their golden parachutes intact...)

I just thought as well make sure your travel insurance or your ticket covers you for airline failure or that your insurance covers you in case of a airline going bust!

Oh no!  That stinks for all the people working for Delta.  I hope they resolve it soon.

My mom is flying the shuttle, but I think gets back Sunday before the flight.  I'll warn her anyway.

A couple of relevant links that I found 'in the news':

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/14282591.htm  (today's news)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/03/31/delta.pilots.ap/index.html  (last Friday)

Well, from the sounds of that first link -- we ought to at least get to the States.  Maybe we'll just have to stay there!   (I love adventures!)

Thanks for the advice, MeShell...better tell DH to look into our travel insurance...

I doubt that Delta 'as we know it' will continue for much longer... Wouldn't be surprised by some kinda mega-airline-merger deal...or by the govt stepping in...but who knows?!?!

We have been told by a rep there is a rumor going around about Delta pilots going on strike...weren't told when just that they might


anyone flying Delta soon reconfirm your flights!!

has anyone ever told you (at least on uky) how much they appreciate your travel updates?  they might not always apply to me...but i'm sure glad i can count on you for the latest!!  thanks MeShell!!

thanks very much .........I always look out for my friends!

I wonder what will happen to all of our Delta miles? 

As I am pretty anxious to see what happens w/Delta in the weeks to come -- both from a family member (employee) perspective and as we're on the verge of traveling...  I did find this info from a news story online (if anyone wants to confirm or dispute this info -- please do!).

First off, a work stoppage can affect different flights differently (I sort of already knew this) depending on whether the flight is a true Delta flight, or a 'Delta Connection' flight -- which is actually a different company (a 'flight partner' as it were) such as Skywest, Comair, etc.  A Delta pilots' strike wouldn't necessarily stop the Delta Connection flights.

Now here's where it gets murky.  If the company goes bust (which a strike would not automatically mean, but most sources right now are appearing to agree that if the pilots stop working the company is going under) under federal law, ticketed passengers can transfer to other carriers on a stand-by basis for a fee not to exceed $50.

A Delta corp spokesman has said the airline would refund ticket prices if it didn’t fly.  (So I'm thinking this must mean in the instance of a strike?  'Cause I'm not so convinced it would be so if the company goes bust -- then basically with my albeit limited understanding of the bankruptcy process, it would seem to me that customers would be 'getting in line' with other creditors but I don't know that for sure.)

The newstory I was reading stated that travel insurance isn't always an option -- because insurance companies often put in a disclaimer for things like bankruptcy or strike that they won't pay out for anything other than flight change fees.

Not sure about frequent flyer miles.  I am proud of the pilots for sticking to their guns -- well would you expect me to say anything else?!   A good airline pilot is worth his/her weight in gold and he/she deserves the pension that he/she has worked long and hard for -- as much as any wastrel corporate fat cat out there (and IMO, much more so!).

So if you wonder where I am in the weeks to come, I might be doing a Lisa Simpson in Hartsfeld International Airport...playing the guitar & singing 'they have the plant, but we have the power...'

what you say is true Carolyn but you have to be careful of connecting flights if Delta does go bust...for instance


air tickets are tricky tricky things.........they airlines are laws upon themselves.....best advice I can give is call the airline and ask alot of what if's and especially if you have connecting flights.....

I have been lead to believe if a said airline didn't have a ticketing agreement with the bust airline they would make you buy a whole new ticket..well this is what we have found here.....


concerning your refund on a unused ticket if it was part of a package holiday I would think this would fall under ABTA..to claim a refund back...

anyways every hold their breath to see what happens!

I wonder what will happen.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060407/ap_on_bi_ge/delta_pilots;_ylt=Ai_MpbTnjHqpegYN9VFFneas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA4NWZtdDlpBHNlYwMyNjgz

anyways every hold their breath to see what happens! 

I wonder what will happen. 

Thanks for the link, Maddierose!  Oh I think the pilots are completely serious about this.  They have gone through 5 years or more of having their pay & benefits slowly eroded away by the corporation.  As it stands, the pension scheme is pretty much already in the crapper...so you're looking at someone - who say, for instance, has given the company 20 or more loyal years of service when that person gets to retirement will be lucky to see 20 cents on the dollar worth of pension for what they spent their entire career building up.

From the pilots' standpoint, they're going to get screwed (and already have been) no matter what ends up happening.  But I think they're hoping that management is going to come to its senses in the eleventh hour, and realize that throwing away the entire company isn't worth it for a $200 million dispute which could be settled otherwise.

These guys & gals are middle-of-the-road, sensible folks -- not wild & crazy liberals by any stretch of the imagination (not that there's anything wrong with that )...Delta (like other major US airlines) has historically/traditionally recruited its pilots from ex-military aviators -- so it's reasonable to suggest that's who a good many of these people are.  Definitely not fitting the archaic stereotype of some union agitator of yore...   However, they are fed up with bad business decisions & rich corporate execs at the expense of the people who are doing the work of the company.

Oh no!!!  My daughter has her ticket(s) to fly over at the end of May for the summer. She always flies Delta (out of Atlanta).
*groan, double groan*

I disagree with Carolyn--the pilots have had, until recently, very little taken away from them due the extreme good timing of signing a new contract right before the horror of 9/11. Yes, past management has really screwed up but this team is, IMO, trying.
The rest of us with Delta have had numerous paycuts and cancellation of benefits. A year or so ago, when the pilots were finally going to take their FIRST cut after we had had 4, one actually said to me "Well, it's just a paycut for you but it's a lifestyle change for someone like me". I happen to know this guy has not one, not 2 but 3 homes, boat, all the toys. Give me a break.
Anyway, I do hope they settle--we go into new uniforms on May 1 and I'm waiting to have mine altered until the last minute