Possible Pilots Strike On Delta - Anyone Else Concerned?

[cal101]

Am I the only one who is getting worried about the possible pilots strike?

 

We (DH and I) are on the Sapphire Princess on May 20th northbound Alaska cruise and have reservations on Delta using frequent flyers miles to fly to Vancouver on May 18th. Have been trying to check on other flights to Vancouver or even Seattle, but not sure what we should do or how soon we should do it. If we have to purchase tickets on another airline it will certainly cut into our budget for shore excursions, but, of course, will do it if we have to.

 

Anyone else in the same situation or have any thoughts or suggestions?

[msred3041]

Am I the only one who is getting worried about the possible pilots strike?

 

We (DH and I) are on the Sapphire Princess on May 20th northbound Alaska cruise and have reservations on Delta using frequent flyers miles to fly to Vancouver on May 18th. Have been trying to check on other flights to Vancouver or even Seattle, but not sure what we should do or how soon we should do it. If we have to purchase tickets on another airline it will certainly cut into our budget for shore excursions, but, of course, will do it if we have to.

 

Anyone else in the same situation or have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Hi, I am also cruising May 20-27 on the Caribbean Princess. I, and several others on our roll call are concern about the strike. I think I am going to check the other airlines just in case they do strike. I sure hate to drive to Ft. Lauderdale, but I might have to. I paid for my tickets. I am very concerned.

[minimotorin]

I'm leaving on 4/15 to San Juan for the Golden and I had Frequent Flyer tickets on Delta. I went ahead and changed my flights to American. It's costing me to fly now but I don't have to stress over it, so it was worth it for me.

[K D cruiser]

We bought tickets on Delta rather than use ff miles to fly to San Francisco fon April 18 for our April 19 cruise on the Dawn. Don't really want to buy another set of tickets, so I guess I'll just wait and see what happens. Maybe if they strike, Delta will try to get the other airlines to honor our tickets. What a pain!

[Chat Noir]

cal101... we are sailing with you, and also flying Delta. I booked the flights using vouchers we had from being bumped back to a later flight into Anchorage last year, so didn't have much choice in airline. At that time Delta had just announced bankruptcy.

 

I see you are booked a couple of days early, so at least you'll have some leeway if you need to change plans and at minimum, won't miss the ship.:) We are flying in 1 day early.

 

This is the first I'd heard of a strike... but I think I'll wait 'til it's a little closer time and see how things progress.

 

I hate flying to begin with... much less stressing over bankruptcies and strikes....eeeekkkk!:eek: I want our pilots (and mechanics) to be HAPPY!

[ladydoobs]

We're on the CB leaving May 13th. Not to concerned....yet. But will drive to FLL if we have to! There's no way I'm missing that cruise!

[EmJakeBubbie]

The gov't always steps in to avoid mass chaos in the skies - if it were me I wouldn't lose sleep over this worry. I'm sure you all will make your sailings just fine w/o xtra cost or delay. As for me, I'm flying Northwest to China in a slight 39 days and we all have read about NWA problems. oh well, it's an adventure. I travel for adventure - flying certainly is that these days.;)

[not Cozumel again cruiser]

We are also flying Delta from Rome on May 8th after a cruise- it would be tragic to lose our Business class upgrade seats but there is not much we can do about it at this point. I am not changing my ticket now- I hope they figure something with the pilots and there are worse places than Italy to be stuck in! My husband already made a list of other flights that may be avavilable for that day- We could also take a train to another city but If they go on strike I will not go out of my way to fly that airline again as we have in the past as frequent fliers.......... Does anyone know exactly what they are asking the pilots to give up? I read that the average salary was $150,000 a year- and hey- they fly free everywhere!

[patperry]

I've been in this situation before and I'm scheduled to fly Delta to FLL on the 12th of this month and fly back on the 23rd.

 

The situation at the time was not with Delta however but with American, the pilots voted to strike and in fact did at midnight. At that point I was panicked because I was scheduled to fly out at 6am. At 12:10am the President, (I think it was Clinton at the time) ordered the pilots back and mandated an arbitration.

 

From what I have read, the pilots have given the mediator in the case a date of April 15th, but arbitraton could be forced before that time or they could possibly reach an agreement through mediation. I have a feeling it might just be a tactic for the pilots to force management's hand. Either way, I'll be able to get there, but might not be able to get back, .... but i'm not going to worry about it and spoil my cruise !

[sabaka]

The Delta pilots are concerned about their famlies and standard of living. they have already taken drastic pay cuts since 9/11 and their pention fund has been all but liquidated. These pilots have paid into and were expecting pentions when they are FORCED to retire at age 60. It now look as though through poor management they will not have any pentions, much like the GM Delphi employees and United pilots etc. It is a very sad thing for them as well as the flying public.

[septrack]

I used one of Delta's partner airlines when booking frequent flyer tickets because of fear of a shutdown. I booked on Alasks Airlines. I think they are also partners with Continental and Northwest domestically. I hope this guarentees the tickets since the miles have already been removed from my account.

[Jaxsonbrownie]

I am also booked on Delta for 4/22. I already had to reschedule my cruise as we were booked on the Star Princess, but got cancelled. I don't know if I can take any more issues with this vacation! Under the cruise air thread, someone wrote that they just booked refundable tickets, is this possible? Jax

[kkorman]

I am also booked on Delta for 4/22. I already had to reschedule my cruise as we were booked on the Star Princess, but got cancelled. I don't know if I can take any more issues with this vacation! Under the cruise air thread, someone wrote that they just booked refundable tickets, is this possible? Jax

 

Yes, but it is usually costly as they are full fare. Might be worth the peace of mind and you can always not use them (and get a refund) and use the delta tickets you have purchased.

 

Brother-in-law works for delta and they are expecting a strike.

[Kevin]

The Delta pilots are concerned about their famlies and standard of living. they have already taken drastic pay cuts since 9/11 and their pention fund has been all but liquidated. These pilots have paid into and were expecting pentions when they are FORCED to retire at age 60. It now look as though through poor management they will not have any pentions, much like the GM Delphi employees and United pilots etc. It is a very sad thing for them as well as the flying public.

 

To be fair no money has been taken from the pension fund. Delta just has not made any deposits in a while.

 

Also to be fair Delta is not the one FORCING anyone to retire. The FAA set the rule and the majority of ALPA members (the pilots themselves) have voted to keep the rule.

 

Delta pilots have been the best paid in the entire industry since the last contact was signed. So far they have given back just over 30% in pay and benefits. The further concessions would put them at 50% of their 2003 salary and bring them inline with industry 2006 salaries. If they give in then they will STILL BE among the highest paid airline pilots. They are currently paid WAY more then any other airline.

 

For example a Delta widebody captain made about $300,000 in 2004. The new salary would be about $155,000. The average wide body captain in the airline industry makes $150,000.

 

Certainly that would be a huge adjustment as far as standard of living is concerned but it just brings them in line with the industry.

 

They must be paid a salary that the market will bear. At the moment people want to pay as little as possible for a plane ticket and that means that everyone's salary will need to be adjusted down.

 

Unless the flying public suddenly decides to pay double for their tickets the pilots are fighting a losing battle.

 

Nobody ever mentions the thousands of support jobs that have been lost. It is like everyone at Delta revolves around the pilots giant heads. I have several friends that work for Delta as mechanics, flight attendants, and gate agents. They all resent what the pilots are putting them through.

[Jaxsonbrownie]

kkorman, It would definitely be worth the peace of mind! Does your Brother-in-law have an idea of how long after the April 15th deadline for arbitration, would they strike? Would it be as soon as a week?Any info you can shed on me would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Jax

[bhopal21]

Thanks Kevin for your accurate post on the Delta situation.

 

It is a very grave situation; but that team has survived a lot of hurdles over the years and I have confidence they can do it again.

 

In any case, if a strike occurs we certainly hope it is short-lived.

 

Mike:)

[chasetf]

Am I the only one who is getting worried about the possible pilots strike?

 

Anyone else in the same situation or have any thoughts or suggestions?

We had a pretty good option on Delta for our Aug trip coming up. Then thought about it (stike or bankruptcy) :eek: and went with American.....;)

[chapdaddy]

Just announced today that Delta is raising ALL of its fares at least 50$ per ticket.

[bhopal21]

Actually the airline increased its first-class and full coach fares by $50 each in some markets on Tuesday not an across the board increase.

 

The pilots have selected April 17th as the target date and a possible strike could occur anytime after that date.

 

Mike

[custompcsys]

If they do strike and it is anything but a very short one, the drain on cash will most likely put Delta under and force the bankruptcy judge to liquidate them. Not only will the pilots not have any job at all, but all the mechanics, customer service agents, flight attendants, etc will be out of work as well.

 

I'm sure the pilots realize this would be the result of their job action. Its a helluva gamble to take with thousands of other peoples' jobs. Makes the fact that I would now have to purchase tickets to Copenhagen seem kind of small in comparison. I have business class tickets I got with my FF miles...mostly on partner airlines, but the return from the UK to Atlanta is on a Delta flight.

 

Also, for the poster who asked if their partner airline seat was guaranteed since it wasn't on Delta....the partner airline's payment comes from Delta when you fly. If Delta is liquidated, the partner could get nothing, and they are under no obligation to honor the ticket. What may work in our favor is the Skyteam alliance...they might step in and do something.

 

Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[kendon]

My cruise is on the Golden, 4/15, and so is my flight. I called Delta who hooked me up with their customer service department in India (where else?). I was told in the event of a strike, they would put us on a partner airline, such as Continental. Of course I'm not sure what to believe, but I started to pack anyway. Think positive. My brother is in the industry, and his concern is 'lost' baggage. Seems the misery trickles down to the baggage handlers, so pack a few extra things in your carry on just in case.

[RandB6]

My question is, if I have air booked through Princess, wouldn't it be up to them to find an alternate if needed? I always thought that was an advantage of booking air through Princess.

[kendon]

Yes, it would become their worry to find you a flight. I booked on my own, so I'm worried.

[sford75]

my mom is a flight attendant and she thinks they are going to strike. I usually fly Delta, because I can go anywhere and just pay the taxes, but I booked American for my up coming trip.

[Whirlybird]

I don't know how this strike situation will end up, wife and I are booked on two long delta flights in early May related to a cruise, so we hope for the best.

 

But I do keep an eye on the stock market and Delta's stock went up quite a lot in percentage terms today. To me, that indicates something positive is happening behind the scenes because usually smart money moves stock prices.

 

Just my 2 cents worth.