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  #101  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 3:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Cane
Numerous news sources are reporting a deal has been struck between the pilots and the airline. No details out yet, though.

Whew! My miles are safe for a bit longer!

And so is Atlanta. A Delta shutdown would have been a disaster for the city.
Seriously, what choices do the pilots have?

Let's see... get out a straight razor, slit my throat and bleed to death or stick it out best they can and try to make it work for their sake, even if not for the airline's sake. Even if they leave Delta and go work somewhere else, they're probably only going to make what Delta is offering to them anyway as Delta pilots are some if not the highest paid pilots in the industry. Sure, go ahead and quit and go work some cattle car for AirTran or Southwest at half your current pay.
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  #102  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 3:55 PM
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Actually, Southwest pilots are among the best paid in the industry, believe it or not. Actually, that goes for their entire workforce.
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  #103  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 3:56 PM
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Yup, and they have the highest employee morale in the entire industry as well. Just goes to show if you treat employees well, they'll perform.
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  #104  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 4:55 PM
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SW might be better paid, but they'd be at the bottom of the seniority list, which is BIG with airline crews.

In my mind I figured common sense would prevail and both management and the union would realize this was "murder-suicide", but let's face it, it's happened before. Remember Eastern? Things there got so rancorous they cut off their noses to spite their faces.
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  #105  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 5:14 PM
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Oh yeah Harry, I know they would have been at the bottom of the seniority list - IF Southwest would have even been interested in them at all. I was actually responding to Thrash's remark about making half their pay at WN or AirTran.

For some reason, there seems to be a misperception with the general public re: pay scales at Southwest. They really do take good care of their people, and a big part of their compensation is in the form of Company stock. Although I've only flown them once from Phoenix to San Diego (on the Shamu plane, no less) I have been a big fan of theirs for years.

On another note, I am so glad things seem to be working out with Delta and the pilots. I wasn't really prepared for Atlanta to be thrust into a depression - which is exactly what would have happened!
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  #106  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2006, 7:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantaguy
Actually, Southwest pilots are among the best paid in the industry, believe it or not. Actually, that goes for their entire workforce.
They're well paid but not nearly as well as Delta is (or was)...

Q: How much do pilots make?

A: Delta says average pilot pay last year was $157,000. The union puts the figure at $151,000. That includes the effects of an earlier concessions deal in 2004 that cut wages 32.5 percent. Prior to that cut, Delta pilots had been the industry's best-paid since 2001.
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  #107  
Old Posted Apr 21, 2006, 9:16 PM
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On a side note has anyone heard anything about the new International Terminal for Hartsfield-Jackson, when they will demolish the old ATC Tower, and/or if they are proceding with plans for a news South Terminal? The Hartsfield-Jackson website is horrible to try and navigate and I can't find any information on these projects other than to find the word (proposed) next to the topic. I realize that they put just about everything on hold to see what would become of Delta. However, much to the dismay and propoganda of the AJC, Delta is on track to pull through so where are the construction / demolition announcements.
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  #108  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 2:56 AM
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Here's a link to tons of info about what's happening at ATL: http://www.atlanta-airport.com/Defau...nfo/gmpage.htm. Click on Airport Construction...

ATL's biggest project for the next 3 years will be the construction (FINALLY) of the new 8,700-space Consolidated Rental Car Facility. That's a major undertaking, and one that's been in the planning process for a few years. Groundbreaking was held earlier this month. It's getting built just south of the new Georgia International Convention Center off Camp Creek Pkwy. Take the Virtual Tour!

The South Terminal will not happen prior to 2010, especially with the cumbersome process of planning, design, and construction. Also, it's likely that Delta would have to give its consent to this project, because of the bonds that would be sold to underwrite construction of the terminal. Its business generates the majority of airline revenues. I'm sure the airline will have a say in how this facility is developed, and what it allows for in terms of added capacity (and more importantly to Delta, opening the door to increased competition!). If Delta isn't happy, it will be difficult to push forward. If Delta gets ample room to grow as a result of the new gates, that will make it more likely to get the green light.

Expect the International Terminal to come online around 2010. I believe the lawsuit between the design firm and the City is still being argued. If, in fact, the entire facility is to be redesigned, as indicated by the Ben DeCosta, it will be a couple of years before any construction begins. I actually think this legal battle gave the Airport what it needed to cool the jets on forward momentum with this $1 Billion project. The future of Delta was seriously being questioned, and still is, so it was justified for there to be extreme caution. It will happen, just not as soon as many had hoped. The current International Concourse E has recently added another 2-3 gates to increase its capacity to the furthest extent possible without the new East Terminal. In other words, it is now built out. You can take a Virtual Tour by going through that link above.

The 9,000 ft. 5th parallel runway and new 397 ft. Air Traffic Control Tower represent over $1.4 Billion worth of projects now being completed. Also, there's a pretty cool page with lots of info on the new runway, due to open to air traffic on May 27. Again, the link above is the first step to reaching the 5th Runway page. Check it out.

I'm planning to be in ATL on May 27 for the opening of the 5th runway. Still have some contacts from my days of working there, and hope to get out on the airfield to watch some of the first operations. Maybe can get into the new Tower also, which would be incredible. To see the airfield from 400ft up!!! WOW...

Passenger traffic is down for the first couple of months @ ATL. Probably has to do with DL's seat capacity reduction combined with some travelers avoiding the carrier due to the bankruptcy reorganization. AirTran is inching towards 20% market share, which they might actually realize in 2006. Amazing how they have grown there, and continue to expand.

ATLonthebrain
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  #109  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 5:14 AM
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What is going to happen to the union contracts Delta has with maintance workers??? I thought I heard on cnbc that they were going to layoff all maintance workers and outsource work to a non-union private servicer because that would cut cost for maintance by 33%. Is this true?
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  #110  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 7:15 AM
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Glad to see the 5th runway coming to completion.
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Last edited by mayhem; Apr 22, 2006 at 7:20 AM.
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  #111  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 3:58 PM
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from the website linked by ATLonthebrain:
"The 1,200 foot long bridge is designed to handle a load of 1.327 million pounds; the weight of a full Airbus A380. The earth embankment brings the bridge 70 feet above the freeway at its highest point."

My question is - does this sound like they engineered the load bearing capacity of the bridge to match the weight of the heaviest plane, when full? Sounds like they're limited in using that runway if bigger planes come along in the future.

I know that the wave of the future is mid-sized planes, but you'd think that they would over-engineer the load-bearing capacity the same way they over-engineered the number of lanes the bridge would span just to allow for growth of planes in the future, especially with the increased international travel that ATL will accomodate, which generally employ the larger planes. I am assuming that the other four runways have much higher load bearing capacities than the fifth and can reroute bigger planes to those, but it just seems silly that they built the 5th to only handle today's heaviest.
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  #112  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 4:07 PM
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Does anyone know what the plan is for the old tower? Has it already been demolished or will it be used in addition to the new 400 ft. tower?
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  #113  
Old Posted Apr 22, 2006, 6:25 PM
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As I understand it the plan is to demolish it. However, the design of the new international terminal seems to be up in the air for now so who knows.

The original 4 runways of ATL were designed to handle the maximum weight of the 747-400 and they have been extended to handle the possible 747-800 but if the A-380 were to land, it is my understanding, that it would bust the concrete. The old 4 are not reinforced or thick enough to handle the impact of a fully loaded A-380. I really don't think that a larger plane will ever be built using today’s technology no matter how safe they think it is just remember they also touted the safety of the Titanic. Airbus has had many more accidents related to faulty aircraft components than Boeing ever has and I personally will never fly on the A-380.
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  #114  
Old Posted May 2, 2006, 7:03 PM
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BTW, trvlr70 and Justin, I flew American from ATL to LGA on my recent New York trip a couple of weeks ago. I definitely felt like cattle. First of all, self-service check-in was the only option for coach class domestic passengers at both ATL and LGA. This is SO impersonal and didn't speed things up any (unless you weren't checking any bags, and with weather ranging from sunny 70's to rainy 40's during our 5 days in NYC, there was no way we could avoid checking a couple of bags) because I had to wait about 10 minutes for one of the few agents available to finally notice that the baggage tags had printed out and that we needed assistance (he was standing at the adjacent counter the entire time and saw us standing there waiting to check in our bags). The flight attendants were not very attentative or personable on the flight to LGA, and fortunately (ironic, eh?), the return flight to ATL was cancelled (bad weather in the northeast the morning we departed), and American booked us on a Delta flight back to ATL.

Considering what the two of you said about Delta and seeing how bad things had gotten at American, my expectations were very low. Contrary to your reports, the return flight on Delta couldn't have been nicer. First of all, Delta gave the option of self check-in or dealing with a live agent to ALL passengers at the ticket counter which was a relief to those of us who had been rebooked on Delta after the American flight was cancelled. And unlike American at both ATL and LGA, we didn't have to carry our checked-in bags over to the security screening area after checking in. Most of all, the flight attendants were friendly and attentive (and beverages and snacks were served)--just as they've been on all of the Delta flights I've taken over the years.

So, Southwest and JetBlue may be better than Delta, and Delta's customer service may have suffered during the first months of bankruptcy, but things apparently have improved as of now. And they're certainly doing a better job than American at the present time.
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  #115  
Old Posted May 2, 2006, 10:58 PM
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Referencing an earlier part of the conversation--As far as really BIG airports go, Atlanta really isn't too bad. O'Hare on the other hand is a sprawling mess and pretty nasty too. I've never been to DFW, but I hear it is even worse.

While Atlanta might be acceptable as a large airport, I generally do not enjoy my time there. It is not particularly clean and the waiting is sometimes ridiculous. In time I believe the waiting will be improved, but I'd really like to see the aesthetics and sanitation improved quite a bit.

I really hate air travel anyway, and airports like Hartsfield and OHare do nothing to relieve my tension.
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  #116  
Old Posted May 3, 2006, 8:00 PM
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IHateBirds,

Here is a link to a story you and others might find interesting, in response to your comments about the lack of cleanliness @ ATL: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/s...27/story1.html

I think many underestimate or oversimplify the task of keeping such a massive and heavily used facility clean. There are, however, measures that can be taken to improve, which is what this article addresses. I'd like to think there is a level of seriousness in elevating the airport's public perception, otherwise Ben DeCosta would not have received such extensive coverage.

As a facility ages, it becomes more difficult to keep it in top operating condition, and I'm seeing that firsthand here at Detroit Metro Airport (albeit 20yrs older than ATL's facilities). Some of our terminal facilities are in bad need of improvement, but that won't be happening, other than a few simple and inexpensive cosmetic patches. A new terminal is now underway to replace the two old buildings and associated concourses.

Hopefully "Operation Clean Sweep" will be a success. A success would be that passengers notice a difference, a real measurable improvement, in their travels in/out/through ATL. I'm looking forward to returning there for Memorial Day Weekend, which is when the 5th runway opens. I'll be on the lookout for noticeable improvements throughout the Midfield Terminal Complex. And from my days working for the Department of Aviation there, I still have many contacts who can tell me what's new and on the horizon. I'll be sure to ask specifically about the efforts to clean up their act, so to speak. And I'll report back, if this thread is still generating interest.

Also, I'll be flying Delta, so we'll see how that goes. My last trip on the airline was back in Oct on a newly refurbished MD88 between ATL-ORD. The check-in was quick, gate clearance (flew standby) was timely and efficient, and the flight attendants were attentive and in good spirits while completing the cabin service in-flight. And to top it all off, the flight arrived early!

I know this is but one of the thousands of flights Delta and its affiliates operated that day, but it is an example of what can happen when things go right from start-to-finish, airport-to-airport.

ATLonthebrain

Last edited by ATLonthebrain; May 4, 2006 at 1:45 PM.
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  #117  
Old Posted May 3, 2006, 10:11 PM
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atl is to crowded and delta dominated i prefer dfw alot more
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  #118  
Old Posted May 4, 2006, 2:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HSVTiger
Have to disagree with this, Atlanta is the best LARGE airport in the United States. Ever been to Dallas, Chicago in the winter time?
Atlanta for it's size is well done. Once you get used to it, it is very easy to hop the train to the correct concourse grab a bite to eat and wait for the flight. Most problems are user error, but if able to go to Memphis or Charlotte
is perferred just because it's easier.
Exactly my thoughts. I've flown out of Ohare and it is a dump compared to Atlanta's. Atlanta is far more modern, more user friendly, and a heck of a lot faster to get around in.
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  #119  
Old Posted May 4, 2006, 2:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLonthebrain
IHateBirds,

Here is a link to a story you and others might find interesting, in response to your comments about the lack of cleanliness @ ATL: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/s...27/story1.html
Wow that's really promising. I hope it makes a difference. It is no doubt a very tough job to keep such a facility clean. I suppose it is much like a very large shopping mall, and the staff in a place like that is enormous.
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  #120  
Old Posted May 4, 2006, 7:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TALLTOWER
atl is to crowded and delta dominated i prefer dfw alot more
[sarcasm]Of course, DFW isn't dominated by a single airline, is it?[/sarcasm]

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