General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy brother is a Delta pilot.
He's in LA right now and flying a red-eye to Boston overnight. He said that hardly anyone is flying. Right now they have 33 passengers on a plane that can carry over 200. About 40 percent of their domestic planes are grounded and he's worried that it will get even worse.
He's fairly new at the job since it's a retirement job after leaving the Air Force, so he will be one of the first to go if they start laying off. He said he wouldn't be surprised if they start grounding more domestic flights. It's pretty bad for them right now.
This is just one sector of the economy, but it's not looking good for Trump's so-called booming economic miracle. There will be a ripple effect and this is going to sink him. Even if things do get back to normal in the next few months, it will take a long time to bounce back from this shock.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)d_r
(6,907 posts)contains benefits and costs of different length closures
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/considerations-for-school-closure.pdf
sellitman
(11,596 posts)A day early. The kind lady at the Delta counter was going to charge us a change fee of $75 each. My wife handed her our card and the wonderful lady changed her mind and handed our card back.
My wife was close to tears.
The plane was 3/4 full.
The Delta people were warm and hospitible.
Bless them.
We are home safe.
I hope these people don't loose their jobs. I'd be horrified.
MontanaMama
(23,238 posts)im thinking of all those folks whose employment is dependent on sports arenas, event centers etc. Food and drink vendors, ushers, cleanup crews, hotel housekeeping, restaurant staffs, the list goes on and on...People who hold service positions are probably already having trouble making ends meet. Even those who will be able to hang onto their jobs might have difficulty going to work because their kids are out of school. Im afraid for so many folks.
Indykatie
(3,691 posts)The weekly unemployment claims data will give us an idea of the impact that CV-19 is having on the economy fairly quickly.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,035 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are going to lose their jobs over the next few weeks and that is going to have an impact on the economy.
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)Had been out in Chicago for work. Was planning on being here through May but they closed the offices and told me to go home.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,276 posts)Because most travel is optional it's one of the first industries to get hit when the economy slumps. If travel is affected directly they really get clobbered. I'm retired from Delta and I'm sure glad to be retired now. I was working for NWA, now merged into Delta, on 9/11 and things went to hell in a big hurry. All aircraft were grounded for the rest of the week and after that people were afraid to fly for a long time. So there were a lot of layoffs and hiring freezes. Then in 2005 all the airlines filed bankruptcy, which didn't help morale much either, but things picked up after a couple of years - until the crash of 2008 and everything went to hell again.
After the financial recovery and the merger, completed in 2010, the whole industry's financial situation once again started looking pretty good, and the merged company had been doing quite well until now. Delta has just stopped flying to Europe and has parked 300 airplanes. Its stock is way down (as an employee I received stock as a benefit and I'm glad I sold it when I did) and they will surely start laying people off. It's always been a cyclical business. I remember one pilot who'd been there a long time telling us that he'd been laid off three times - approximately every twelve years. It's been 12 years since 2008 so I guess that's about right.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)A lot of people in the industry will be hurt by this. At least my brother still has a pension coming in from the Air Force, and his wife is also a Colonel who is still active duty, but a lot of those people are not going to have much to fall back on except unemployment, and I don't really trust this administration to keep them afloat for very long.
I really hope this crisis doesn't last very long. We could easily be plunged into a major depression if we don't get a grip on it soon.
crickets
(25,896 posts)I saw last night where somebody predicted a certain airline might file for bankruptcy next week. There has to be some sort of "everybody freeze" scenario soon, or the US and world economies are going to become a clusterfuck of fast falling dominoes.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)And I don't have any faith that the Trump administration will be able to handle any aspect of it.
mitch96
(13,817 posts)Just like the auto industry..... Maybe loans? or just a give away...
Corporate socialism? too big to fail??
m
crickets
(25,896 posts)I'm well aware that some fatcats at the top will sit on the cash pile and grin while everyone else goes hungry.
I don't know what the answer is--but when corporations start to fall under the pressure of what we are all going through, and they will, thousands of jobs can evaporate overnight. It's those jobholders and what can be done for them that concerns me.
eta- and small businesses can go under even faster. Congress has no time for Mitch McConnell's foot dragging BS while people are sick and dying, or staying home to try to avoid adding to the numbers. They need to step up. In the meantime, we all need to try to look after one another as best we can.
StarryNite
(9,364 posts)It's going to be really, really hard for quite awhile but at some point the virus will hopefully start letting up. Either that or we'll all be dead and it won't matter anyway!
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I'm trying to be optimistic.
zackymilly
(2,375 posts)Both of them tell me they will probably be laid off, with no help from the airlines they work for.
The airlines have always been a greedy bunch.
DENVERPOPS
(8,679 posts)Mechanics, pilots, ticket and counter personnel, baggage handlers, food preparers, fuel pumpers, de-icing employees, reservation personnel, etc etc etc
It's like dominoes falling and would be millions and millions, and that is just ONE industry......
There will be countless other industries damaged severely........and not just he U.S. worldwide.
I wonder if "Mr. Amazon" is getting any sleep, while he wonders about jumping out a ten story building window......
All his gazillions of dollars, soon to be wiped out, due to a virus that you need an electron microscope to even see.......
malaise
(267,808 posts)She was the only person in a seat for three rows - on both sides of the aisle.
Marrah_Goodman
(1,586 posts)Freddie
(9,231 posts)Scheduled for April 18. Theyre in Florida, were in Pennsylvania and her family is in Ohio. The rental house I got for the week will honor my payment for a future date. Got trip insurance for the rental car. If all domestic flights are suspended then Frontier HAS to refund all I paid for 5 tix (Philly to Palm Beach). Wedding venue will honor down payment for a future date. Were all heartbroken but it has to be for everyones safety.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Hotel occupancy is low and people are being laid off.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I really hope this crisis is hurting them where it counts.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Thousands of low paying jobs like hotel maid and waiter/waitress - jobs without benefits or sick days to begin with - and now nothing
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)those with no sick pay or job security. However, we could not be stuck with a crueler, more indifferent administration that what we have now. I honestly hope they seriously consider the political, economic and humanistic ramifications of failing to take immediate action on this crisis. People need help now.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,035 posts)bucolic_frolic
(42,670 posts)like gasoline and jet fuel production, factories, batch materials. We'll be lucky if this doesn't develop into shortages and random stockouts more typical of a country under attack in time of conventional war.
gab13by13
(20,864 posts)if 1st quarter GDP isn't 1% or lower, someone is cooking the books. 4 of us were scheduled to fly to Minneapolis to watch college wrestling in the Vikings stadium that holds 113,000 people. We got our money back for the tickets, airline tickets, canceled our rental car and hotel room. That's just 4 of us, plus the money we would have spent at restaurants and maybe even at the Mall of America in between sessions.
BamaRefugee
(3,476 posts)Turin_C3PO
(13,649 posts)hope it doesnt come down to layoffs. I dont want the economy to crash but if it does, I hope it brings Trumps approval rating way down.
Best wishes to your brother in these crazy times!
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I appreciate your good wishes. I hope that nobody has to undergo joblessness, but it seems that it might be an eventuality.
At least my brother has the backup of his Air Force pension and his wife is employed. However a lot of those people are going to really suffer financially if they are laid off with nothing but unemployment to survive on.
You take care as well!
johnthewoodworker
(694 posts)a message making fun of Biden's mental acuity. Trumptards will blame any evil that arises out of this coronavirus on the
Chinese, democrats, and liberals. An economic catastrophe will not be the cat grabbers fault, according to his base.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)You would think in times like this that people would try to pull together and just help each other. But it looks like some people are so attached to their hatred and divisiveness that nothing will change their hearts. It's really just a shame.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)I would say your brother is lucky to still be working.
Pass along some big DU best wishes but I suspect the whole system will be down soon except for a few crucial flights.
Our industries have a lot of field service people from all over the globe they rely on to keep their plants running and they have to be able to fly anywhere on a moment's notice. I'm talking for power plants, many manufacturing plants and a lot of medical systems such as MRI machines.
KY........
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Appreciate your good wishes. Doesn't look good for him since he's so new and it's all based on seniority. He'll survive and in some ways I am almost glad that he will not have to travel and be exposed for much longer.
They will have to tighten the belt for a while, but they are in a better position than a lot of other people who will really be in a bad situation. I wish them all the best. I really wish we had a more caring government at the helm right now.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)you may want to take a peek. It's a video by an experienced airline pilot that knows the industry and gives some good perspectives from his side of the fence.
I posted this earlier in the day in Video & Multimedia.....
Link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017571645
KY...............
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Thank you for the link! I had missed it, but K&R'd so that other people might view as well.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)I'm not a pilot but enjoy his take on flying and his comments on aircraft accidents. He as also done several on the water shortage in his part of California, specifically near the Orville Dam which almost collapsed a few years back.
He also did two or three good ones on the Kobe Bryant helicopter accident.
You can visit his video channel here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/user/blancolirio/videos
Glad you enjoyed it!.......
greatbaldeagle
(157 posts)I used to work in air cargo and some may not realize that most midsize and large passenger jets have cargo shipments on board along with your luggage. In fact, cargo shipments account for a huge amount of the revenue that passenger airlines make. This exists on both domestic and international flights. There were some all freight aircraft (Freighters) for international shipments while I was there but no passenger airlines had all freight domestic flights. Many of those international shipments have to connect with domestic flights to reach their final destination. This is going to cause some major gridlock, especially for all of the perishable food items that are time sensitive and medical supplies.
I'm sure the airlines are working out some solutions, but none of those will be good enough to completely eliminate the ramifications all throughout the supply chain. I would imagine FedEx, UPS, etc. will have to ramp up their operations in order to fill the void. We are in for some very difficult times outside of the obvious issues most are aware of.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)No one should be making money from puppy mills.
greatbaldeagle
(157 posts)than in puppy mills. There are some extremely strict regulations and guidelines for shipping live animals. Ventilation, food, water, amount of space to move about freely, vaccination records, and connecting time are a few. The animals must be booked into a local kennel if the connecting time exceeds a few hours. The airlines implemented these rules long ago after there had been some unfortunate injuries and deaths. In fact, animals are the last to board a plane and the first to get off and are quickly whisked indoors.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)and no business should be profiting off of them.
Doesn't matter how well they're treated for the brief time they are in transit
greatbaldeagle
(157 posts)so don't attack me. Responses like these are the reason that people are apprehensive about sharing information. Who in their right mind wants more puppy mills? Stating the obvious doesn't solve any problems. You're not going to stop puppy mills by hijacking posts about supply chains. I mistakenly responded to your first post just to provide some info that I think is important regarding pets. There are people who may need to ship their pets in the future that will get a sense of comfort knowing they don't need to be worried about their health and safety. Trust me, I dealt with soldiers who cried on the phone, worried about shipping their dogs to places like Germany. Domestically, some people thought they needed to drive their pets across multiple states just to secure their safety, when in actuality they were putting them at risk in many instances.
You responded to a post about supply chains by injecting the issue of puppy mills. That has nothing to do with supply chains. Now that discussion has been hijacked and I am going to stop posting about it. Perhaps someone who would have gotten some additional info about supply chains (which I am an expert in) is not going to get the real truth now thanks to you. Good luck to you and your family as we face this unprecedented crisis.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)I responded to a post about airline cargo.
C_U_L8R
(44,892 posts)It's all connected
Merlot
(9,696 posts)now have no one to fill their teny-tiny seats? Well, I feel for the employees of the airline, but as for the f*ckwads who approved profits over human decency, oh well.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)They are all hurting now.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)spinbaby
(15,073 posts)I tried to get my sons Delta flight changed a couple of days agonot cancelled, just changed to a different flight so hed be joining family instead of playing tourist in NYC. Completely failed after several tries at the website and an hour on hold, so he wound up going Southwest. The airport was deserted when I dropped him off.
mnhtnbb
(31,319 posts)last Sunday to change my return flight from tomorrow to last Monday. I spent the first hour trying to get through on the local number the website said to use for that island. Nothing but "all circuits are busy". After an hour, I called--on a landline--the US 800 number and left a message to accept a call back within 2 hours on my US # cell phone. Finally got a call back, as promised, within the 2 hour window.
I imagine all the major airline reservation systems have been overwhelmed with people wanting to change tickets. It couldn't be done on-line with American, I had to talk to someone to make the change.
Response to smirkymonkey (Original post)
Rainbow Droid This message was self-deleted by its author.
cagefreesoylentgreen
(838 posts)UPS, FedEx, DHL? People are still going to need stuff shipped somewhere.