P-air
Before we get all warm and fuzzy about just how good a job DJ management did keeping people employed, perhaps we should look at the real deciding factors.
DJ were between a rock and a hard place with their crewing of the E-jet. A situation created wholey by the decision to screw pilots out of more of their terms and conditions. 20% less to fly the jungle jet. Some may argue fair enough, but it had consequences. Why take an E-jet command when for a large number of F/O's a 737 command was just around the corner. Why fly a jet for the same company and have to take a paycut for the privilige! Is it any wonder that most chose to stay put.
So, DJ decide to recruit externally, fair enough also. Suddenly there are approx 50 737 pilots in surplus. Threats of retrenchments follow. If you don't move to the E-jet or (God forbid VA as a CFO!) then you may be out of a job. Wait a minute! As a DJ 737 F/O I have seniority to most of the E-jet F/O's, they'll have to go first. Oh no says management, redundancies are based on fleet not seniority. What a blatent lie!!! The AFAP told them so, but management still insisted.
So what happened? Nothing, that's what. These clowns soon realised that it was a battle they couldn't win. Some pilots, either lacking spine or any sort of appreciation of the true nature of events allowed themselves to be disadvantaged. Some people you just can't help. For the remainder, well done by sticking to what was true.
The only reason DJ kept on the surplus was because they had no choice. All they had to do to avoid this whole bull**** episode was to offer a comparable wages and conditions package for the E-jet. In the big scheme of things the cost would have been more than offset by the goodwill it would have generated.
But as I said, some people just can't be helped.