[Sky-1] May I borrow the 767?

Jim Fuoco <jfuoco@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Thu, 24 Apr 2003 23:08:13 -0400

Mullin and crew are not getting any brighter.  His group should be more
concerned about golden parachutes than retention packages.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 23:04:14 -0000
From: cochs <ccochs@xxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: Skyone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: Skyone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Sky-1] May I borrow the 767?

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May I borrow the 767? 
Delta nixes employees' request to use plane 
 
By RUSSELL GRANTHAM 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
 
 
File 
During a financial slump in 1982, Delta employees bought the $30 
million Boeing 767 for the company. 
 
 
 
Recalling how Delta Air Lines employees were once inspired to buy a 
Boeing 767 for the Atlanta carrier, two longtime flight attendants 
recently asked for use of the &quot;family car&quot; to fly employees to 
Delta's annual shareholder meeting this week. 
 
Delta politely refused their use of the jet called &quot;The Spirit of 
Delta,&quot; citing the expense and other concerns. 
 
During a financial slump in 1982, Delta employees bought the $30 
million 767 for the company. 
 
Nancy Sargent and Catherine Donaldson thought it would boost morale 
for Delta to make the 210-seat jet available to employees and 
retirees traveling to Delta's annual meeting at New York's swank 
Plaza Hotel. Seats would be available first-come, first-served. 
 
&quot;I was very disappointed. I really thought that could bridge some 
gaps between employees and management,&quot; said Sargent, a Delta flight 
attendant since 1970. 
 
She and Donaldson, both based in Atlanta, hoped executives would see 
it as a tool to foster company spirit amid hard times. Delta has lost 
almost $3 billion in a little over two years. 
 
The plane would be staffed by volunteer flight attendants and pilots, 
added Sargent, who has been active in failed efforts to form a flight 
attendant union at Delta. 
 
Donaldson, on the other hand, was active on the Flight Attendant 
Forum, an employee committee formed by management during the union 
drive. 
 
&quot;In these times of management distrust, this undertaking would show a 
huge display of good faith and interest in us as employees,&quot; Sargent 
and Donaldson said in their request to Delta. One reason Sargent 
wants to go to her first annual meeting in a decade is to hear what 
executives or board members have to say about bonuses and bankruptcy- 
proof pensions that have generated controversy in recent weeks. 
 
Delta's executive vice president of marketing, Vicki Escarra, told 
the pair such a flight might be viewed as &quot;favoritism&quot; to some 
employees and violate the pilots contract &quot;and other legal 
constraints.&quot; 
 
Delta also &quot;would incur other special costs (fuel, landing fees, 
etc.) that would be above and beyond our ordinary operating 
expenses,&quot; Escarra said in an e-mailed response. 
 
Delta's Boeing 767s cost about $3,441 an hour to fly, with about a 
third being crew costs, according to Eclat Consulting. 
 
Escarra also noted that all employees can use their free flying 
privileges to attend the meeting, &quot;and I encourage you to do so.&quot; She 
said she agrees that &quot;we need to renew the commitment of Delta 
employees. I appreciate your creativity and spirit.&quot; 
 
Sargent, who later shared the exchange with reporters, said Delta's 
chief pilot for its Atlanta base, Alan Price, called the proposed 
trip a &quot;great idea&quot; in a separate e-mail to her, and explained that 
management pilots or pilot trainers could fly the plane without 
violating union contracts. 
 
Sargent also noted that Delta has provided free flights to other 
groups. Last year, in a trip backed by the Organization of Black 
Airline Pilots, Delta flew about 150 local teens to the U.S. Air 
Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. 
 
Delta also has ferried executives and some board members to annual 
meetings on jets set aside for the flights. 
 
Sargent said she plans to go to New York using her standby flight 
privileges. 
 
 
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