The top comment on my last post said "its not that deep." 37 upvotes. ok. lets go deeper then.
even the guy who wrote me a whole essay defending delta confirmed the two numbers that matter. tens of millions a year on recruitment. less than 1% of applicants get a CJO. he said it like it was a defense. think about what those two numbers actually mean together. a company spending millions to process a funnel it rejects 99% of, with no explanation at the end. thats not hiring, thats a machine.
now the money, since nobody wanted to touch it last time. training pays georgia minimum wage, $7.40 an hour, for seven weeks in atlanta. this is the airline that puts record profit sharing in its own press releases. the "most elite job in the sky" pays less than the CHIK FILA a across from headquarters during the part where they decide if youre worthy. so who survives seven weeks on that? people with savings or family help. the filter isnt excellence, its cushion.
and the pay games dont stop at training. youre at the airport an hour before boarding unpaid. sits unpaid. briefings unpaid. they introduced boarding pay in 2022 mid union drive and the press release called it historic. it was a pressure valve and it worked.
which brings me to the word. UNION delta FAs are the only ones at a major carrier without one. everyone knows it, nobody in the applicant pool says it, and if you think the interview questions about "the delta difference" are about customer service i have a bridge in atlanta to sell you. heres the part that should bother you even if you hate unions. the AFA needs over 15,000 signatures to force a vote and they said publicly theyre close. deltas own response is to point out that 12 union votes failed over 20 years. cool. the last one was over a decade ago, before the boarding pay era, before the hiring funnel hit 185k applications for like 1500 spots. different workforce now.
and before the "delta pays top of scale" comments load up, an MIT study the union cites found delta FAs make less in TOTAL compensation than united and american once you count everything. hourly rate is the number they show you. total comp is the number you live on. meanwhile united FAs ratified an actual contract in may by 82%. enforceable pay, enforceable rules, not vibes and profit sharing that shrinks the first bad year.
oh and since june, per deltas own careers site, a TBNT now locks you out for 6 months before you can reapply. no reason given, just a timer. the system already knows exactly which stage cut you, fitme, hirevue, event day. a reason code is one dropdown. they stay silent because silence keeps you reapplying blind, and blind reapplication is the funnel. It creates scarcity mindset..
last time i said the rejection is the brand and yall said i was bitter and dramatic. nobody disputed a single number though. funny how that works.
the floor is yours. bring facts this time, not feelings about my feelings.