Evan!

From the article at http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050815/delta.html?.v=5 :

Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, said the proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and to pay down $100 million of debt under its loan agreement with GE Commercial Finance and other lenders.

"general corporate purposes" ... hmmm

How about bonuses for all the upper execs and a nice big golden parachute for Grinstein.

Things to do

1. Drive a company into the ground
2. Threaten bankruptcy to get concessions from unions
3. Sell a big asset for a fast infusion of cash
4. Wink as I give bonuses to top execs to "keep the talent"
5. Give the board a big bonus
6. File bankruptcy and liquidate airline
7. Take severence package and golden parachute and buy a small country
8. Drive country into the ground
9. .......

Grinstein, like so many other top executives, no longer worry about the long-term stability of "the company" because they needn't worry about money if the thing goes belly up.

ecaarch

It is my understanding that Grinstein was pretty well-off before he took the job and that his compensation is actually pretty nominal. He then further added to his credibility by fully disclosing his compensation, declining bonuses, options, etc. and then only accepting half his pay last year. I seem to remember a salary on the order of $500k and that he only accepted $250k. That enabled him to honestly go to the pilots and (successfully) discuss pay cuts.

By all accounts, he wants to succeed at saving DL more than he wants to make a few more $$ that he doesn't need. He stepped up to the table to play a lousy hand and has done better with it than most anyone else could.

PS - I am working from memory of news stories here so I'm def open to others posting news links to clarify any of these facts.

vinnmann

Deleted

ThisDJ

Well do you hate NW just a little bit or a lot? WHat did they do that so pissed you off? I have used them to DTW and MEM quite a bit this year and had no problems.

indufan

Do you have Jerry Grinstein confused with Leo Mullen. Jerry hasn't done any of these things.

Splycer

I had the pleasure of flying Skywest DeltaConnection from SLC to GEG today 8/16/05 and the service and FA was far better then I have received on a ASA flight. As an add bonus Skywest puts out their own magazine and it was a good read after a long day of Skymall and Sky Mag. I've never seen a ASA mag.

CelticFlyer

That reminds me that one of the most outstanding moments in the past couple of years as a DL PM came when a SkyWest employee went out of his way to squeeze me onto an earlier flight. Once I got on the flight the FA was equally impressive and for a moment I forgot that I was on a baby jet! SkyWest has some good people. If they can kick some ... at ASA all the better!

JS

Let's see... miserly award availability, Saturday night stay requirement for award tickets (including tickets issued using Delta SkyMiles) and no stopover option on domestic award tickets. Employees that are only second to AA on the rudeness scale. They are the only airline I have ever seen with long lines for kiosks.

Luckily I avoided their winter 1999 Detroit slumberfest but I got a taste of their prison guard attitude the last time I tried NW, on a flight from MSP to connect in MEM, where we had a mechanical delay at the gate for two hours and they would not let me off the plane, claiming that all MEM connections would be made. I was even willing to pay for my own hotel and leave the next morning (well, using OPM to be precise, but it wouldn't be at NW expense). They refused and IMHO committed the civil tort of false imprisonment (no I did not pursue the case; not worth it). Not surprisingly, when I arrived at MEM, the only flight that had not left yet was TUP. The three people going to TUP were elated while the other 200 people on this full 757-300 spend over an hour at the ticket counter getting re-booked (not to mention waiting for a hotel shuttle at 1 AM). I got two hours of sleep that night instead of eight.

I have had bad experiences on other airlines, so that is not the only thing. It certainly taught me a lesson not to spread my business around in their direction. NW just seems to have an aura of "you are the passenger, we are the airline/employees, so **** you and go to hell". This is evident in this weekend's upcoming strike. NW claims that they will be able to run a full schedule, and they are going to find themselves with hundreds of thousands of angry stranded passengers. They, both management and the employees, will be getting a taste of their own medicine, and they will be surprised at how bitter it is.

JS

I do like that SkyWest magaine. The articles are more interesting, and the route map is much easier to read because it only has the SkyWest routes and not the spaghetti mess of the combined DL/CO/NW routes.

L Dude 7

When a did a lot of flying between SFO-SLC a few years back, I would actually pick Skywest flights over the Delta mainline flights. Probably the only instance in my life where I willingly opted for RJs over full-size. The service was better, and in addition to the Skywest magazine, they had the 'skywest CD'. At one time DL had a mainline flight and a Skywest flight leaving within minutes of each other from SLC-SFO. (It must have had something to do with continuing flights, becuase it seemed to make more sense to fly one larger jet, but I digress.) The Skywest flight had a nack for being on time more frequently...

I wont go in to my experiences with ASA and Comair... Needless to say, those are two of the reasons why I don't fly Delta very often east of the Rockies...

indufan

Dude, I don't mind SkyWest either but never, ever would I prefer a CRJ over anything on SFO-SLC. I like Comair a lot...ASA, let's say, not so much.

Traveller

The ASA flight I was supposed to be on tonight ATL-MLB at 10:14pm has been cancelled. I make the right call.

pbiflyer

Delta's IT structure (not ASA and not Comair) is pretty cool. They invested $1 billion in its "Delta Nervous System." Has lots of good technology.
Just a little tidbit of info. After 9/11, Delta was the first airline to let the FAA know that they were ready to go. It was a logistical nightmare for airlines to figure out where the planes were, pilots, crew and passengers. Delta's technology figured it out first.

Oh yeah, and ASA bl*ws.

Quick story. Our new neighbor stopped by shortly after he moved in. Nice enough guy. Talked about work, told him I travel a lot. He asked if I ever flew ASA. Before I thought about it, I said I try to avoid them at all costs. Something went off in the back of my head, so I added "being a bigger guy, I hate flying regional jets." Turns out his son is a pilot for them. Thankfully, I did not say the real reason why I hate flying ASA. That would've been awkward.

indufan

Is blows a prohibited word here at FT?

ecaarch

Possibly in a certain context?