All good inputs, and stuff he's thinking about already. A good friend of his family with decades in the airlines got his ear about WB international, so that's where some of that appetite came from. Frankly, I've heard the same thing from captains I've flown with and look forward to doing some myself with the right seniority.

I'm not sure this is shiny jet syndrome... he's just more interested in layovers abroad with lots of traveling in his background. And he may not have a choice, but resumes that look like his get calls at all the majors pretty quickly. Truth be told, I can't completely understand anyone who chose to fly Navy, so who really knows... :)

Last bid Delta was around 1.5 years to DTW330B

what he might want to examine is the stats on what a career of only international flying does to health and longevity prospects.

Future post bankruptcy WB rates may not be as nice as profitable airline NB rates. Not to mention guaranteed loss of soft money.

Consider also that legacy UAL was "the" launch customer for the 777 dating back to 1995. All those P&W birds are not going to be flying much longer, hence the 787 and 350 orders. Yes, they and AA have many more 777s than we do but they dont use them in the same way. Delta typically only uses 777s for missions that require it's range and cargo capabilities. We will have 67 A330s when all is said and done and all of ours are newer than their 777s. The 330 may not be an ultra long haul bird and I too was disappointed that we passed on the 787s but the A330 still pays well at Delta. And as has been mentioned, we are profit leaders compared to our counterparts.

Right on target. Those initial base 777's at UA are kind of useless especially if fuel goes up. I believe they were meant to replace dc10 (10 series) flying in the past. As for running 777 across the pond unless you are hauling a lot of cargo it is not plane for the mission.
Way too much plane for capacity and range (from eastern US gateways). I'm not DAL but the 767/332 and 333 are ideal for that. If you are going long range the 787 is hard to beat. Perhaps the 359 or 10 would be the best bet for longer heavier routes, but that is what the 777-200er and LR do hence delivery postponements. Bottom line with carriers right sizing their fleets you might not see a increase in WB flying for awhile IMO and hard to see who will have the most based on today's numbers.

I may be mistaken but at AA you can change bases monthly and chase the flying you want if you are senior enough and are willing to commute anyway. I know some guys live in FL and are out of MIA but change bases as the seasons and flying changes.

You can do that for now. However, our JCBA we signed in 15 says a minimum of three a year. That's what LUS had and I'd imagine we will get back to that eventually.

I think you should also ignore the 767s as they do not pay widebody rates.

The American number seems low.

Couple thoughts about UA.

SFO is by far the most junior wb base. The 777 there is getting 5 of the 7 747 destinations. The 787 is only getting 2 of the 747 cities. However, the 787 is a much larger category with something like 12 international destinations already. Junior guys on both planes have been here about 2 years however that may stagnate a bit as we close IAH 787 and SFO 747. The 757 and 767 in Ewr occasionally goes to new hires and mostly does Europe flying if your friend is into that. One last thing about debt. UA and Delta are pretty close on debt. Different types of debt however. American has massive debt. Like you guys said before, Delta is killing it in profits. UA not so much....and the media hates us!