RSP 085 5/18/07
RSP 109 Stuff 9/22/07
The RSP Periodic Email Archive:
With somethings old, somethings new, somethings borrowed and sometimes blue!
Please realize that the focus of RSP was never intended to be a pension mess. When this is over and done with, I will direct this email and website in a lighter direction. I post almost every email that I receive, with last names removed unless granted permission. The editor does not always agree with contributors, but protects their right to share opinion We will share info that we think our community will find pertinent and enjoyable. Thank you for staying in touch and happy retirement!
The following are the RSP email archives that I still have, complete with grammar and mis-spelled SNAFU's! Caution, when reading archives keep in mind our world is a dynamic place and many bits of information become dated and are super-ceded by later updated info.
Dear Retired Delta Pilot,
HOORAY !!! For College Football! Go Sparties!
____________________________________
Calendar:
Sept 27th Deadline - To inform PBGC if you want any due make-up lump payment in 2007 instead of '08.
Oct - Oct. 2 for class action suit hearing
2008 - Secondary distributions? Early 2008?
________________________________________________
DAL NEWS/RUMORS: (DAL AJC, DAL Yahoo,)
[external] Delta Flies Above The Competition
at - Wed Sep 19
Stock up then gives it all back!
_______________________________________________
FINANCE: CLAIMS/PBGC/HCTC/ INSURANCE/PLANNING/TAX/ESTATE
Remaining 4 Watch:
After Aug 2007 there are 5 retirement items remaining with financial consequence.
1. PBGC 2nd look re-calc at qualified annuity benefits - completed 8/24/07
2. PBGC make up lump payment for underpayments since termination: pending (due Jan '08)
3. 2nd claim distribution by DAL through BSI - pending
4. Class Action suit concerning 5 yr lookback worth in excess of $100 million - pending
5. Final PBGC re-calc "determination" of qualified annuity (likely after claim stock sale) - pending
++++++++++++++
PBGC Lump payment for past underpayments will be in 2008: (9-19-07)
Sept 27th Deadline - To inform PBGC if you want any due lump payment in 2007
The PBGC sent a letter (you probably got yours) dated Sept 17th, that states unless you ask differently (within 10 days), they will make that lump sum payment to us in Jan 2008. Any adjustments to your monthly annuity will still take place Nov. 1st. On this lump payment issue I was not clear as to when the shortfall would be calculated. Would it be from the time the PBGC took over the plan (12-31-06) or from the plan termination (9-02-06). We have now seen indication that this lump will be calculated from the time the plan was terminated (9-02-06).
Related email:
Mark, 9-19-07
I'm one of those "fortunate" people who got underpaid by PBGC. We've heard they'll send us a check plus interest to make up the difference. That's good. The check was slated to come in December, 2007. There was a groundswell to delay this until January, 2008, to offset the tax issues from the stock payments in 2007. We were given info on how to email some guy at PBGC. I did this. I also predicted this effort to delay payment was a lost cause; I was apparently wrong ( and no one is more surprised than I ). Today, I got a letter from PBGC saying they were going to delay the underpayment checks until January, 2008, unless you advise them to do otherwise. Who thought we could influence the Imperial Federal Government ? I had to go lie down on the couch to recover. The guys who want their money in December can still get it. We all win...this will not happen again.
Bill
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
QDRO info: (RePrint from Roberts email)
Dave,
Since there are so many retired pilots with Qualified Domestic Relation Orders (QDRO) you might consider sending this update to those on your E-mail list.
Roger T. Horrell
767A DFW (ret)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----- Original Message -----
From: Roger D. Ross
To: 'Roger T. Horrell'
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 8:33 PM
Subject: RE: Website Contact
Roger,
These administrative problems have been particularly vexing for us, and were supposed to let up after the company emerged; yet they continue post-bankruptcy. We have received a number of comments and questions about the pilots subject to QDRO’s since they have not been able to get benefit estimates from the PBGC.
We are having our attorneys look into this. But given the relative lack of progress by Delta and/or the PBGC in these very important matters so far, I would not be optimistic about a timely resolution. I wish I could give you more encouraging news.
Thanks for supporting DP3. Watch the web site and BLOG for updates on this and other retired pilot issues.
Roger Ross
DP3 Trustee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Roger T. Horrell [ mailto:jollyrog@]
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 2:29 PM
To: contact@
Subject: Website Contact
Importance: High
PHONE : (940) 484-5864
EMAIL : jollyrog@
ADDRESS1 : 2201 Pembrooke Place
CITY : Denton
SUBMIT : Submit
STATE : TX
ZIP : 76205
COMMENTS : When the PBGC road show came to DFW in August, I privately told the the lead spokesman I had a QDRO. I then asked would it be possible for the customer service representative to tell me that day what my adjusted income would be and was told they could not be of help until the PBGC physically had the copy of my QDRO in their hands. I asked the PBGC spokesman what could be done to get Delta off of the dime and get the QDRO's physically over to the PBGC and was told if push came to shove the PBGC would have to ask the PBGC lawyers to go to (I presume Bankruptcy Court) and order Delta to hand over the QDROs. A week later Delta called me. I asked three different ways and the answer from Delta was the same: Delta will not do the QDRO calculations unless the PBGC orders Delta to do this. I called the PBGC on September 5th telling them about what appeared to be Delta's new position. The PBGC customer service representative was shocked to hear Delta taking this position. I was again told by the PBGC Delta is having difficulty downloading the Delta pilots pay records into the PBGC system, but this should be corrected within the next two months. I then told the PBGC representative this was the very same thing the PBGC told me last spring. Is there anything DP-3 can do about this trying situation? Its my understanding 1,400 retied Delta pilots have QDROs so this isn't a little matter.
Roger T. Horrell 767A DFW (ret)
__________________________________________________
OTHER AIRLINE: (AMR, UAL, CAL, LUV, NWA, USAir)
_________________________________________________
Human interest:
Subject: FW: Good Old Warbird Story (Thanks JT)
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:16:49 -0500
|STORY OF THE DAY - Grace and Style |
| |
|It was noon on a Sunday as I recall, the day a Mustang P-51 was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night |
|from some US airport, the pilot had been tired. |
| |
|I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her, it was much larger than in the movies. She |
|glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by. |
| |
|The pilot arrived by cab paid the driver then stepped into the flight lounge. He was an older man, his wavy hair was grey and |
|tossed . . . looked like it might have been combed...say, around the turn of the century. His bomber jacket was checked, creased,|
|and worn, it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency |
|and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac. |
| |
|After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be |
|available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up . . . just to be safe." Though only 12 at the |
|time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire point then pull this|
|lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story. |
| |
|The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, |
|then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life |
|with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no concern. I lowered the|
|bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge, we did. |
| |
|Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his pre flight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 19, out of sight. All|
|went quiet for several seconds, we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 |
|as she started down the runway, we could not. There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across |
|the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. |
| |
|"Listen to that thing!" Said the controller. In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight. Its tail was already off and it|
|was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her |
|gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be |
|eaten up by the dog-day haze. |
| |
|We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the |
|radio. "Kingston radio calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment. The radio crackled, "Kingston |
|radio, go ahead." "Roger Mustang. Kingston radio would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in |
|shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show! |
| |
|The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking . . . I couldn't forgive myself!" The |
|radio crackled once again, "Kingston radio, do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?" "Roger |
|Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, Kingston radio, we're coming out of 3000 feet, stand by." We |
|rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. |
| |
|The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream. Moments later the P-51 burst through |
|the haze . . . her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips |
|again supersonic as the burnished bird blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air. |
| |
|At about 400 Mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with an old American pilot saluting . . . imagine . . . a salute. I|
|felt like laughing, I felt like crying. She glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded . . . then the old |
|pilot pulled her up . . . and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory. |
| |
|I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as |
|their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not |
|unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory. He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest projecting |
|an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will. |
| |
|Until that time, I'll just send off a story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young|
|Canadian that's stayed a lifetime. |
_________________________________________________
Misc. Emails Contributors:
EOS Jobs: 9/13/07
Guys, if you know anyone who might be interested, especially the retired Delta guys, have them contact EOS. They fly JFK-London, with Paris, LAX and other cities in the foreseeable future. The current Captains say you can make about $140K/yr flying the 767. Sounds like a guaranteed job for the retired DAL guys...
Bill
++++
Bill,
I Just spent the better part of a whole evening at dinner and drinks with the chief pilot and other crew people here in London. I picked his brain a little and found out that they're planning to hire 10/month for the next 14 months to crew all the airplanes coming on board.
He said he wants to hire nothing but ex-Delta captains (at least the first 40 hired) because he wants highly experienced captains for "quick upgrades"! He said to me, "if you know ANY ex-Delta guys who are interested, please tell them to contact us very soon, because we're going to start interviewing again within the next week or two, and the guys that we put in this first October class will be likely upgrading 'very quickly'. We have some 8000 hour wonders (his words) who are technically up for upgrade, but who I'm very uncomfortable upgrading because I'd rather have the highly experienced people upgrade ahead of them!
We can't afford to take any chances at this early stage in our company's history with former low-time RJ captains flying large jets across the Atlantic! The risks of faulty decisions made due to poor judgment stemming from lack of overall experience are simply too great! So I want to try and find as many 'legacy carrier and/or military pilots' as I can to hire as soon as possible, so we can get them in the left seats of these new airplanes that we have coming!"
He also said that the west coast to Europe would be a done deal no later than the end of '09, and that they would probably be using 787's to do it! He said that Boeing reps were in Purchase, NY at the company headquarters several days last week giving the company presentations, and that Jack Williams (the ceo) was very impressed and is leaning heavily toward the 787 as his airplane of choice for the longer haul flying this company will be doing! He said that the London routes from NY will be the shortest routes we fly and that the 787 suits our future plans "perfectly." But I want to reiterate that he told me to get the word out that the next class will be the ones with the fast upgrades and that the others to follow will take longer. He also said that the company is poised to see a 400-500% growth over the next two to three years---maybe even as fast as by the end of '09!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi Mark, 9-14-07
FWIW, I got my letter from the PBGC dated 8/21/2007 adjusting my monthly benefit. For some perspective, I retired on 9/1/2005 at 58 years and 9 months after 28 years and 9 months of service. I retired as a 767-400A with an FAE of $25,737. I took the lump sum (thank God for that!) and my monthly annuity was computed to be $6,660 ($2,262 qualified and $4,398 non-qualified) which would’ve been a lot more if I had been allowed to work until my normal retirement date. I initially received the letter from Rob Kight after the termination stating that my qualified benefit was going to be $ZERO, but then I was reclassified as a "hardship case" – I haven’t quite figured that one out - and my benefit was increased to $262 per month which I have been receiving since 5/1/2007. On 11/1/2007 my new benefit will be reduce to, drum roll please, $190.29 a month! So the long and short of it is instead of the $79,927 a year I had earned for nearly 29 years of loyal and faithful service, I will be receiving a grand total of $2,283 per year (which will be further reduced to $2,165 per year when the social security offset is applied in 4 years)! Is there any rhyme or reason to these calculations? BTW, after paying out $7,000+ for COBRA premiums for the first 6 months of 2006, I dropped the cost prohibitive coverage to go on my wife's plan to save some money and unwittingly disqualified myself from the HCTC forever by not being covered under any Delta or COBRA plan on 1/1/2006. It's too bad no one at Delta took the time to explain that loophole... Thanks Mark, for putting out your RSP Newsletter. It’s good to hear how everyone’s doing.
B
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
8/28/07
Mark,
My PBGC benefit went from $318 to $460.
Retired Sep '05, age 57, '78 hire date.
I suspect that if I live another 30 years, the postage to mail the statement will cost the PBGC more than my benefit!
G
__________________________________________________________
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HUMOR/SOBERING Section: (Disclaimer: These are shared links. I cannot pass along attachments or images but hot links work well. All of the the links I pass along have been openned but none have been certified clean from problems. With a good anti-virus program you should be safe on all).
Bud's Discount Pilot Airline Guy: (Thanks Ed)
++++++++++++++++++++++
Please don't think I am being political. This is just sad if it is true:
After three years, and a Dept of Defense payment of $250,000 to the "Peace Mom", Cindy Sheehan has not had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's grave. And, she doesn't even have to pay for one, the Dept of Defense will provide one:
"The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world. For all deaths occurring before September 11, 2001 , the VA may provide a headstone or marker only for graves that are not marked with a private headstone.
Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains."
Apparently she can find time to protest on at least 3 continents, get arrested various times, go on vacation in Hawaii, have photo ops with the Marxists in Venezuela, but can't seem to find the time to properly mark her son's grave.
The grinning idiot clinging to Je$$e Jack$on is Cindy Sheehan... the sob sister who protested the war at Bush's ranch, who lost her son in the war, the same son she gave up in her divorce when he was 7 years old. And by the way if you wonder why she has so much free time ... she is going through another divorce right now and guess what? She is giving up custody of another son.
As Forest Gump once wisely proclaimed, "Stupid is as stupid does."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject: Need a laugh??
All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in
flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are
some real examples that have been heard or reported:
1. On a Southwest flight (SW has no assigned seating, you just
sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing,
when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out
furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant
crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude
and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to
enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."
3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all
of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's
something we'd like to have.
4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only
4 ways out of this airplane"
5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you
enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
6. As the plane landed and was coming to a sto p at Ronald
Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"
7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in
Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take
care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like
that, sure as the world everything has shifted."
8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard
Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal
tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat
belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be
out in public unsupervised."
9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will
descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over
your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask
before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small
child, pick your favorite."
10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken
clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and
remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."
11. "Your seat cushions can be used for floatation; and, in the
event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them
with our compliments."
12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your
belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight
attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."
13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta
Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the
industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard
landing in Salt Lake City the flight attendant came on the intercom and
said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here
to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it
wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."
15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight intoAmarillo,
Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the
Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the
Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo . Please
remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis
what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect
landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us
to the terminal."
17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had
hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy
which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers
exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline." He said
that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers
in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally
everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane.
She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said
the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we
shot down?"
18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant
came on with, "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt.
Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against
the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are
silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage
to the terminal."
19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement : "We'd
like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get
the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal
tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."
20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen,
if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing
and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."
21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it
reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement
over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.
Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The
weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful
flight. Now sit back and relax... OH, MY GOD!"
Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back
on the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared
you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally
spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my
pants!" A passenger in coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the
back of my pants."
_________________________________________________
That all for this RSP issue! Until next time.
Tailwinds Always,
Mark Sztanyo
859-916-0259
marksztanyo@
"Airspeed, altitude, or brains; you always need at least two."
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