Originally Posted by
green929
Hello.
I'm a furloughed/bypassed NWA/Delta pilot considering a return and was looking for some answers to all of my questions. Some background on me. Married with 2 young boys. I would have to commute to work from KORD or KMDW. My currrent seniority is around 109XX. Furloughed from NWA in Jan '02. I'm currently flying corporate Part 91 based out of KMDW.
1. Would I be able to hold a line on the 80/320/757-767 based out of DTW or MSP?
2. If I was able to hold a line would it be commutable?
3. How many days off a month could I expect with a typical line.
4. Does everybody seem to be getting along after the merger?
5. What does health insurance currently cost for a family of four? No HMO's.
6. Your thoughts on whether the job is professionally satisfying or just a weekly grind.
7. What are your thoughts on future scope rules?
8. Anything else that might help my family make a decision.
Thanks for your time! I enjoy reading this thread and would love to return to Delta if I can make the numbers and quality of life issues work.
Regards
Hi Green,
Tough decision. You're currently left seat on a nice corporate A/C, and if the company/CEO/pax are good folks, that makes it all the harder. At SSN 11,000, you'd have about 15 block holders below you in MSP on the -320. On the 88, a couple more. I didn't check DTW, but it's probably about the same....maybe someone else will chime in. DAL does not separate block holders from reserve guys in the same way as NWA did. But usually, the bottom guys just end up on reserve down the list.....but #1 guy may bid reserve if he wants, month-to-month. Not weird, just different. Good side is it lets a guy exercise his seniority each and every month. I fly reserve A LOT. I always felt kinda underhanded when it was time to bid vacation, and as the #1 guy in MEM, I held Christmas off, while guys senior to me (block holders) would not. Can't necessarily do that anymore. As for the integration of the pilot groups, I believe it is turning out much better than we all envisioned when this first started out. Nearly to the man, everyone I've been around is 95% positive about the merger, and 100% positive about the future of our company. If we can get back a fair dollar amount in contract restoration in 2012 negotiations, well, let's set that bar high, and see how it works out. I'm a jr. Captain on the '9 in MEM, a late 1995 hire. If I can answer any Q about this any further, PM me, and I'll call to chat on the phone.
Regards,
Chuck