Delta Indoc Dinner
 

...So how weird would it be to take a sleeping baby to it? We have a four month old but no babysitter since it's Atlanta. Kind of throws a kink in things...

Not happening

That would be frowned upon, unless you and your wife are both of the same gender. Then it will be on the Deltanet propoganda feed, and Delta will issue a pandering press release about how diverse they are.

Very weird. Don't do it. Better off paying for a family member to fly in and make a weekend out of it.

Got it. Wife will take your word over mine haha. Thanks

But worth going to if we can find a sitter?

Absolutely. It'll be a night you'll remember forever.

...or it'll be forgettable. I wasn't able to bring my wife into town because of our kid situation and she didn't miss much although we missed each other as happens in this business. If you've had other accomplishments in life, it might feel weird celebrating the wings in spite of not having even started aircraft training. Not to say you'll have a bad time, and it could be a great date night. But IMHO (and it's only that), I wouldn't move heaven and earth to attend as a couple.

Delta Indoc Dinner
 

If this is where he's strived to be his entire flying career, even his life, then it will be something he wants to be a part of. I say make the effort until you've exhausted all options. If it doesn't work out it obviously wasn't meant to be.


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I thought I was being too judgemental when I noticed that crud.

Isn't that the truth. The chance of my face on the Deltanet is about the same as winning the Powerball.

imo: Definitely don't bring the baby. It's a fancy dinner with lots of quiet periods where someone is speaking to the room.

As a side note, I really enjoyed it and it was a special bonus to have the wife fly in too. After all the years I spent trying to get on at Delta, that dinner really was the icing on the top of training week.

Find, beg, borrow, or steal a babysitter and go! It only happens once!

IMHO the night is for your significant other not the new pilot. It's a way to welcome them into a new chapter. Find a sitter it will be worth it.

Expense the sitter to the CPSC. It's worth a try.

Doubt I am adding anything that has not been said already. We were in the exact same situation a few years back, so I emailed the lady who was in charge (of spouses tickets?) and asked about bringing our son because of nursing.
While it is hard to read tone in an email, I interpreted her response as how-dare-you-even-ask NO.* Something to the effect of it is a very formal event and children were not welcome. So spare yourself the embarrassment of asking.

My parents hung out in hotel room with kiddos and we were first to gracefully depart the dinner so we could get back on nursing schedule.

Glad my wife got to go. It meant a lot more to her than it did to me.

*I did not press-to-test this as a newhire but probably would today. As referenced earlier, as diverse and accommodating as Delta enjoys parading the corporate culture, and with stories of at least one female trying to pump in the cockpit, you'd expect their response would have been different, right? I'll leave it at that...

Funny stuff.

"Hey honey, to honor you, I'd like us to go to a dinner in honor of me and my new job."

To each their own. If your significant other doesn't mind two days of airline travel to drink some company Kool Aid and enjoy the paid-for hotel (before you start paying yourself), you know you picked the right career. Some of us have spouses who might prefer a child-free night at home bingeing on Netflix with a pint or two of Ben and Jerry's. For the OP, if a babysitter is easy and doesn't stress a new mom out, go for it. If it doesn't work out, I'm not sure it'll be a huge loss. Time spent with a 4 month old won't be wasted. I would echo the opinion not to take a baby.

If Delta really wanted to honor my wife, they would allow the use of family leave, and not just in states that require them to do so. Some pre-emptive false gratitude wouldn't get much mileage for our family. Others loved it and got cool pics for Facebook.

Not a hater...just keepin it real, folks. The honeymoon phase will end for some when they figure out that they are just a cog in a massive blue collar workforce. The company doesn't have your back and neither does the CPO (ask the captains you fly with about their experiences). If anyone has your back, it's your LEC (YMMV). It ain't romantic, but it's been true for me.

Welcome aboard!?

I know of 3500 "Widgeteers" that spin out at the mere mention of Mecca.

I went solo years ago for the very same issue. My wife was nursing and there was no way she was going to take both kids to ATL and then try to get a trusted caretaker there for a 2 hour dinner. I wouldn't say she missed a whole lot. I left as soon as it was acceptable and didn't do the after party stuff. In training after all. The social aspect is over rated. I have yet to run across any of the managers who attended (good thing IMO) in the years since.

The guys I hung out with are spread to the winds and I occasionally run into them every few years but unless you plan to work the room for an instructor or management job no real benefit. The real work was still ahead and we did our own celebrating later. The dinner was forgettable in my opinion. Maybe 3rd airline does that to you.

Bring the kid... remember, we're all part of the Delta "family"!!😝

LOL aren't we a ray of flipping sunshine? Doesn't hurt to take advantage of an event to show appreciation for your loved one. Many of them have been thru the regional crapfest right beside us. I like to Netflix and chill, but a little variety like an opportunity for your wife to get dressed up can payback in dividends. We juggled kids/newborn schedule, wife's work schedule and made it work.

Nothing, life, job is ever perfect. But if you wanna sit in the corner and grumble the whole way thru then yes you're just a number. That's just a self fulfilling prophecy.

Back in the day, no pilot on probationary pay would dream of skipping an event that offered free food, not even a time-share sales pitch. :p

I'm happy to hear that the night made your juggling worthwhile. (truly)

I'm just offering some perspective for those forced to choose how much juggling will be worthwhile for them. My wife and I love a chance to get fancied up... with limited opportunities to do that in any given year with little kids, I personally wouldn't burn one on the indoc dinner.

I went stag (newborn at home.) No regrets.

We had no formal dinner, but they did offer us a chance to pick through the off loaded catering. Unfortunately the tail gunners beat us to it.

Now that's funny :D

Wow. just wow.


To the OP. This is a great place to be. The second standard deviation just wants you to believe it is miserable and we are all taking part in an Allman Brothers song about being tied up.

Care to tell me where I have it wrong? I felt the love during indoc. That didn't extend beyond training. Regional guys know what they are getting into (bigger, better, but really just more of the same); a lot of military folks don't. I've never said Delta was a miserable place to be, nor do I expect it to be. I'm glad I'm here and think that on average, Delta is still probably the best legacy to work for.

I offered my thoughts on one company-sponsored evening. I've only been to one, and it was a fine meal and a fine night. The management I came to know in subsequent contract negotiations, the way my friends have been treated as new hires, and the anecdotes I have heard from captains all remind me it's just a job.

007, you're not miserable because you don't have longevity pay and I don't extrapolate misery for you. Easy on the feigned disgust... there are bigger issues than this to lift yourself above the riffraff.

Its a job, nothing more, nothing less.

Its worth going to for both of you. Leave the kid with sitters or family etc. If not, you can go by yourself. Its a nice evening and a classy thing for the company to do. Its worth it if you can swing it logistically.

I would have not brought my wife if we didn't live in ATL. It was ok, but not worth flying your spouse in. I have heard the museum is pretty cool. Our class didn't have it there.

My indoc dinner was the night after my wedding. So bachelor party Friday, rehearsal dinner Saturday, wedding Sunday, and then new hire dinner Monday. It was a very nice dinner but my wife and I were both tired of meeting people and dinners. For me it was very forgettable.

My wife works with pilots so she knows most of us think the airline industry revolves around us, but by the end of the dinner, she was tricked into thinking all pilots were sky gods again!

That lasted until I complained about only haveing a stretch of 4 days off.

Wife sitting next to me as I read the thread. She enjoyed the dinner. Thought the museum was nice. Wouldn't have lost any sleep whatsoever if a sitter couldn't have been arranged and I had to go as a single.

We couldn't have had the dinner at the musuem because all the stuff that is in there was still "Green Tagged."

I'm a bit surprised the majority opinion on here seems to be "don't bring the kid." A four month old is generally just a portable eat-sleep-poop machine; a two-year old is a whole different animal (literally). I think you should definitely plan to bring your wife AND kid. You have a myriad of options on the day of depending on how the baby is doing. If my wife were there, that baby would be constantly held and entertained.

^^^ feel free to call and ask, but I'd lean heavily against doing this. Its just not the venue for an infant but who knows maybe it'll work out?

I still wouldn't though.

I know my wife and I are excited for the dinner!! Do they pos space the wife down?
Farm

I know they positive space your wife down but what about domestic partner?

You would be pushing the envelope and the ice breaker. If you are confident in your ability to deal with the fallout so be it. Just realize you are breaking tradition and people will react. That's mostly their problem until and unless they make it yours. This would be a bold move for a new hire and you might be that guy who opens a new door. Personally I wouldn't press to test.

You do you, but be aware of the management generational differences and go into this with your eyes wide open. I'm not saying anything will or will not come of this but it would be a shock to the system. I'm not saying it's right but someone will react to this. Will it go further than a personal reaction, who knows?

With this public debate and the company professing to embrace millennial culture may be you'll get a personal invite for +2 instead of +1. We have gone out of our way here to accommodate and promote various lifestyles perhaps family unity is the next barrier. My wife is a dietician and whole heartedly promotes natural nursing. She would have definitely shocked the system. The time wasn't right back then and may still not be.

Just my $.02. I wouldn't want to see any backlash or difficulty for someone new. You have enough on your plate.

Nope. She can come, but you gotta get her there on your own (non-revving is allowed).

Also, good luck getting a gf cleared as a Domestic Partner in under 2 weeks. I'm going on 7 months of trying with no luck yet. Getting her in as a Travel Companion is no problem - but TC's pay buddy pass type fares and don't qualify for ZEDs.

Had to fly my gf down for $80 roundtrip LGA-ATL. Hopefully YMMV. Good luck.