Originally Posted by
Hitch18
Hi all,
Just looking to get some feedback and opinions on my commuting options if I were able to land a job with Delta. I'm currently a military pilot with no airline experience so I don't understand the important details of commuting and I want to be aware of what I'm getting myself into to max extent possible.
Details:
Living in Calgary YYC
Planning on commuting to SEA or SLC
Would like A320 initially, A330 eventually
4 flights a day between YYC and KSEA but are with Alaskan and WestJet
2 flights a day between YYC and SLC on Delta.
Have wife and 3 kids. QOL and time at home is important
US citizen with ATP
So my initial questions are:
1. Is there anything preventing me from commuting from Canada?
2. I'm assuming A320 would work about 15 days a month. More or Less?
3. Is there any issue with commuting on other airlines. I'm assuming lower priority.
4. I have an offer with Westjet. Should I keep it simple and work in base even though pay it at least half of Delta.
Thanks everyone. Any input is appreciated.
1. There is nothing that says you can't commute from another country. We've got a number of pilots who do that.
2. Probably pretty close. You may be able to drop/swap down the fewer days worked if you're also willing to take the commensurate pay hit. 10-12 days/month flying at Delta may still pay a lot more than Westjet.
3. The only thing I can think of is a lot of times you cannot ride in the cockpit jumpseat on other airlines internationally. Definitely something you're going to want to look into as far as the policies on WJ and Alaska.
4. Only you can make that call. Are you tied to Calgary for the long term? Plans to eventually move? Maybe even stay in Canada but be close to a Delta base where driving is a possibility like Vancouver to SEA or near YYZ to DTW?