Originally Posted by
Twister
Originally Posted by Twister 
Many, many years ago the SSN gods smiled upon me and I was able to choose #4 of 36. I took a 37N to NYC. 
Commuting. It will be a long haul for about 3-4 months, I think. When I get senior enough I'm going to bid for ATL, which will cut 1 of 2 flights just to get to work. Eventually I hope to move to SLC and life will be sweeeet!
Everyone out there either waiting for their interview or indoc date, good luck!
My pre-drop homework discovered that 717s fly a TON of legs every day, which means lots of ground ops that you DON'T get paid for. Also, they rarely, if ever, actually sit on their reserve tours. I seriously debated about taking an -88 to ATL but in the end the pull of taking a SLC-based plane, which I also think is one of the sexiest airliners ever to be built, won me over.
Just walked in the door from our dinner at the Delta Museum. A very classy affair. In other news the 11 Apr guys started today so that already adds another 30 below me. Only 12,945 more to go!
To me "not getting paid" for ground ops is a bit of a misnomer. Our trips are built based on block time, however you will get the minimum daily credit regardless. So if you fly a 4-day trip with only 1 leg each day that blocks 1 hour, you still get paid 21 hours not 4. So rarely does the amount that your trip is worth change unless you're re-routed or you're on a hard time trip and there are delays. Make sense?
You weren't wrong about the 71 and 88 flying lots of legs and the reserves being used. The good news is (at least on the 88) your seniority rises qwiker than other fleets and you can bid more desirable trips. YMMV.
At the end of the day, as long as the red Delta widget is on your aircraft, life is good. Have fun on the 73