In years past Delta was always a "family" airline and the extended family included the customers who flew the carrier religiously. It was this family environment that was damaged somewhat, at least on the employee side, by Ron Allen, and then totally destroyed, on both the employee and customer side, by King Leo.
This chased away customers and alienated employees. All of us in the "family" have been in foster care for the past couple of years.
The actions of current management have done much, at least from the customer standpoint, to repair things. I, for one, plan to return to the carrier full time in 2007 and regain PM status.
And particularly for those based in ATL, Delta has been a huge driving force behind the enormous economic expansion in the city. And with more and more international nonstop destinations, this growth will be fueled even more.
So, I think the Delta "family" -- "our" Delta -- is being reborn and reconstituted, and it just gripes my butt to think that we would stand by and let a bunch of third rate airline operators like those in Phoenix take over the company, just as Delta is getting its act together again.
And, yes, I do realize that the creditors will call the shots on this.