TBone,

I used to fly for Delta, now I'm at UPS. I used to commute to reserve for almost my entire 6 year career at Delta, and while it did suck, you do get used to it.

I quit Delta in May '06, so I don't think any of the reserve rules have changed since then. I can't comment on international reserve since I was never able to hold the 7ER...but I do know that the rules are different. I believe the main difference was that Intl reserve had some kind of 24 hour reserve callout period. Maybe some Delta ER guy can comment.

Regarding domestic reserve...one of my commutes was living in SAN, and commuting to ATL (MD-88). First off, reserve is more unpredictable because you don't know if you'll be sitting in your crashpad twiddling your thumbs for a week, or flying every day. You have to be there the entire time either way. A line holder knows exactly when and where he is flying, and won't be commuting to domicile as much as a reserve guy....nor will he be sitting on his keister waiting for a phone call.

That being said, there are two types of reserve at Delta....long call and short call. Long call is a minimum 12 hours notice for a callout (usually longer). You can normally check your computer the day before to see if you've been assigned a trip for the next day. If you live close enough to domicile, you can stand long call from home (I couldn't do this while based in ATL and living in SAN).....which leads us to short call. You can be assigned short call up to 8 times a month, and must be "promptly available" (most Delta guys I know interpret this as a 2 hour call out). You are on short call for a predetermined 12 hour period (scheduling will call you, or you can check your computer). Unless you live in domicile, you will need to be in your crashpad (or nearby) to make it to the airport in time.

If I would have lived in ATL, I would have been sitting on my butt at home, instead of some skanky crashpad, or budget motel. This is infinitely better than commuting to reserve. Can you see the difference? Getting paid to hang out at home, and maybe called to fly, or spending 18 days away from home in a petri dish lab experiment of a crashpad waiting for a phone call.

One thing I forgot to mention.....while on reserve, the most days I ever had off in a row was 4. This equates to commuting to domicile approximately twice a week. If you get lucky and bid off days back to back (between two bid periods), you could have 8 days off in a row! Since Delta has PBS (Preferential Bidding System) now, you might get more days off in a row, I don't know.

Bottom line.....live in domicile, and your QOL increases tenfold.