Kevin needs to first explain what a "de facto" B scale is.
As for productivity and efficiency, I looked it up because I want to know the answer. It isn't changing the subject to investigate claims which you make and which turn out to be wrong.
As usual, the data validates what I have said and not what you have believe.
For 2012, the last year for which DOT data is available of AA, DL, UA, US, and WN, the first number is the number of ASMs/employee and the second is revenue/employee, both in thousands.
WN generates 2833 ASMs per employee and $341 in revenue
For DL it is 2559 and 311
For UA it is 2458 and 293
For US it is 2375 and 283
For AA it is 2365 and 290
So, in fact, DL is the most efficient of the US legacy airlines, bested by WN - which isn't a surprise given that I have repeatedly said that WN's revenue generating capacity is what fuels their high salaries while AA and US are BOTH at the bottom of the list.... AA generates more revenue but US is slightly more efficiently in generating seats.
You can argue that AA has more employees because of less maintenance outsourcing but that excuse can't be used for US which is neither efficient in terms of the amount of ASMs they generate per employee nor in the revenue each employee generates.
Whether you want to accept it or not, the reason why WN has long been able to pay the salaries it does is because it runs a very good business. DL has moved to the head of the pack in the industry in the past several years - remember this is 2012 data and DL's revenue growth was stronger in 2013 than it was in 2012 - and it also excludes FL data - they are classified separately from WN.
DL employees enjoy what they do because DL mgmt runs a very strong business and continues to increase efficiency and revenue generating ability. Not surprisingly, employees benefit from the strength of the overall finances of the company.
Unions cannot give employees what the company doesn't have.