I would like to share my opinion of the Delta Air Lines situation. I worked for Delta for 10 years, the last two in revenue management, and left less than six months ago.

I don’t know any pilots so I cannot tell you how nice, smart, egotistical, or self-centered they may or may not be. I really don’t understand how anyone can bring a pilot’s wife into this argument, unless it is envy, so I will leave them out.

The situation Delta Air Lines finds itself in cannot be blamed entirely on the pilots. Put yourself in their shoes in 2001: you are renegotiating your contract and all other pilot groups have gotten large salary increases. Leo and Jerry have already said that they want to keep all employees’ salaries at or above comparable positions.

Would you have said “No, thank you, I think the company can use the money more than I”?

Jerry has somehow managed to elude all responsibility for Delta’s position, though he was the chairman of the board and responsible for the hiring of Leo and gang and final approval of the pilot contract in 2001.

While the airline industry was sliding into a cyclical downturn before 9/11 no one at Delta, including the fantastic CFO Michelle Burns, saw it coming. 9/11 supercharged the correction.

Let’s jump to the present. You give the company back the majority of the raise you took in 2001 with little or no complaining. Delta returns to request more reductions in pay. You negotiate and come to an agreement to reduce pay, relax work rules, and decrease pension benefits around Christmas; nice gift.

You think this negotiation has been made in good faith, [yet] less than a week later Jerry is quoted in the paper seeking the original $300 million reduction.

Why should the pilots or any other employees believe anything that Delta’s executives and management team tell them?

They have created a parachute for directors and above in the event they are downsized by insuring that they will receive a year’s salary above and beyond other termination agreements, while doing nothing for the people who actually do the work day in and day out.

Delta managers schedule meetings to discuss the topics for their next meeting and nothing of any importance gets done.

There are so many things management did in error and failed to do that I am not sure anyone could list them all. When all is said and done and history judges the Delta turnaround plan, I do not think there will be any favorable mention of executive leadership.

That being said, I will always remember my time at Delta in a favorable light. Delta employees are the most caring people, for their company and coworkers, I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Thank you for the experience.

M. Moore
nusport (at) yahoo.com

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