DFW to ATL commute
 

How is the DFW to ATL commute? I would imagine a lot of guys/gals fight for jump seats since DFW used to be a Delta base. Is DFW to SLC any easier?

Thanks in advance for the info.

OP asked about DFW to ATL. How about TPA/SRQ to ATL?

Ton of commuters. Was easier from TPA with 10x day from AirTran. Can't speak to SRQ other than there is far less frequency.

DFW is hopeless.

DFW-ATL, forget about it. I flew with a guy a couple months ago that buys round trip tickets the month prior for every trip he does. He will try and put a couple of the trips back to back but has a bought round trip ticket to and from work for every rotation. He said that its just about nearly impossible to get the jumpseat unless you happen to be off and on the phone at 12 ready to grab it.

Thank you. I was afraid that maybe the case.

Also just looking at today very few standbys are getting on. All using s2 and the list is 20-30 deep rolling from one flight to the next. Every turn I do to dfw has a jumpseater both ways, guaranteed.

That's how we were from DAL on the 717 as well. Always full.

The longest standby list I have ever seen is DTW-ATL. 100+

I have flown with that guy. One of my favorite captains!

On a related note, I did recently find out that with Southwest you can buy a ticket and cancel up to 10 prior and then keep the fare for a year as needed. No changes fees, etc. Something to consider for tight commutes.

Keep in mind most people responding might be DFW commuters discouraging JS competition....

I wouldnt want to do it but I know plenty of people who do and they seem to make it work

Yep. I know a few people that make it work as well. Don't forget committing on OAL...there are something like 25 directs flights a day, doesn't always have to be Delta.... It sucks, but it's doable.

Yes he is!

In my indoc class the new hire coordinator looks around the room and asks, "who here is gonna commute from Dallas/Ft Worth?"

One guy raises his hand...and the coordinator says, "may God have mercy on your soul."

The most successful DFW commuters have a spouse at AA. Do yourself a favor and consider NYC7ER, NYC330 or LAX777 if seniority permits. DFW-ATL is one of the toughest commutes in the system.

or get an AA travel partner? :D

for the newly arrived. commuting when you are 30 doesn't seem so bad. When you are 50 it will likely grind you down.

Once I added up just the time I spent on a plane commuting...it was almost two weeks a year. toss in the schedule and category bid concessions, and we are talking about some serious wasted time over a career.

Flew with a new hire living in dfw...listened to all the reasons for being there, and none were so unique as to not be available in any delta domicile.

the unstated reality in all of the conversation was, if you want to live in dfw as a delta pilot....you are probably working for the wrong airline.

for new pilots, beyond reasons of extended family and/or substantial spousal employment, its a tough calculation to rationalize.

My advice was if you are going stay there, sit down with your wife and at least make it as an informed decision about what not living in a domicile holds for your future.

The downside? you will likely spend as much as 15-20% more time away from family. perhaps more if the delta/offline commute options fall victim to economic or network 'adjustments'.

if you have/will have kids, the commute schedule demands will complicate child care. doubly so if your spouse is employed....and travels with work.

You will likely surrender a million dollars in career earnings.

Your seat bid will always be impacted with the commute variable. Bidding junior and spending time at home on reserve isn't likely to be workable. and the older you get....less so. (see recent scuttlebutt on reserve pilots not being in position for SC).

In all domiciles, but doubly for atl....the options for non-line flying work are also going to be negatively impacted. (cpo, standards, training...etc) Opportunities that could provide a far more 'normal' work schedule and home life.

not to mention the stress factor the commute choice will place on your personal relationship.

The upside? Unless you live on the beach someplace its difficult to argue outside of extended family support and/or spousal employment there is anything so unique about the metroplex that wouldn't be mostly available in one of the delta domiciles.

DFW-ATL is in my opinion the toughest commute in the system because of the number of commuters.

Having said that, if you have the funds you can generally buy a last minute OW ticket for $100-140.

If you want to buy a ticket about 1 week out you can usually get one in Spirit for about $50-55.

I moved to Atlanta from Dallas as a new hire since I didn't want to commute anyway. I especially didn't want to make that commute. I used to work at Spirit; it wasn't uncommon on the morning Spirit flight from DFW-ATL we would have 5-7 Delta FAs/pilots desperately trying to get on at 7am for their evening-late evening show as Delta was booked all day; no thanks!

With that said I'm impressed how cheap tickets are, even last minute. I bought a confirmed for even less to Dallas for $160...for first class. I flew with a Dallas Captain who usually buys $65 tickets on American. You could make an argument to stay in Texas; you could offset most of the tickets to work in just state income tax alone. You could also make the argument what is your time worth sitting in MD88 jumpseats, airport terminals, crappy airport hotels.

Either way, I couldn't be more happy to not be commuting. There's way more opportunities to make more money, much more scheduling flexibility, and Atlanta is far more redeeming than the College Park layovers I used to do and associate Atlanta with. Good luck!

I did it for 7 years. It's tough. I never missed a trip. If you can't get the Jumpseat on Delta, be the first one at the gate at AA 1 hour prior to the flight.
I used AA more than Delta.
Moved to a hub now. It's a better job not commuting.

if there is any doubt left about an answer to the original question.....consider the interest around the c series and a dfw virtual base.

Or consider commuting to LAX or DTW. AA has tons of flights to LAX and I sometimes commute through DFW to SNA. Never sat jumpseat, always in back.