Really? In '04-'05 Delta certainly wasnt the first to lay or administer pay cuts. When I was on furlough I talked to many American and United mechanics, not a one was very pleased with the way they were treated.
The simple fact is that of the 4 network airlines that filed for BK in the decade of 2000-2009, DL had the SMALLEST percentage of its workforce that was laid off. UA and US both laid off more than 50% of their workforce during the decade (including the combined workforce that formed the new USAirways) while NW was at 40% and DL at 35%. As for average salaries and compensation (total compensation) per employee, all of the network airlines started the decade at about $100K/employee and ended the decade around $90K. During BK, compensation dropped to $80K, largely because pension benefits were not paid. CO entered the decade at about $60K/employee reflecting the residual effect of their BKs in the 1990s which resulted in a lower seniority workforce, lower pension expenses (because fewer employees were at the top of the pay scale), and because CO was rapidly growing, which kept average wages down.
AA's mainline employee costs are very similar to those at the network carriers... what AA does not have that the previously BK carriers had is increased productivity.
The single largest factor that effected the number of employees that were laid off was whether the airline grew DURING and AFTER its BK. On that count, DL and CO are the ONLY US network airlines that had more capacity by 2007 (at the time of the DL/NW merger) than they did in 2000. Even in the past year, DL is adding capacity to its mainline system through larger aircraft (buying used MD90s, adding seats to most domestic fleet types) while reducing capacity from its regional carriers - moves which are both good for mainline DL employees.
The simple fact is that DL management's aggressive growth policy post BK - similar to what CO did 10 years before - was responsible for minimizing the number of reductions.
DL's international growth plan for 2011 is larger than all of the other US airlines unless someone comes up with a number of new route announcements - not likely at this point in the year.
DL also has the lowest cost per seat mile of the mainline network carriers because of its continued growth (those new employees they are bringing on will make less than the topped out employees at other airlines) - the same strategy of keeping costs down that WN and B6 have used.
Further, the network carriers who came out of BK gained largely productivity increased through a combination of growth (moreso at DL) and workrule changes (more predominant at US and UA).
CO's growth rate has slowed significantly in the last few years - as their fleet spending has slowed, largely waiting for the 787.. and with it CO's costs have gone up. CO and UA will combine at a cost structure that will be closer to AA's costs (which are the highest in the US industry) than the historically best in class costs which allowed CO to grow for much of the period until 2005 when the network carriers were dramatically cutting capacity.
It is growth, not union or non-union status that determined the number of employees that were laid off. It is precisely the same strategy that allowed WN and B6 to grow post 9/11 while the network carriers were shrinking. Further, employees in the US network airline industry are largely at similar AVERAGE total compensation levels, regardless of whether the carrier went through bankruptcy or not.
