That is a really good question. We have had not just a few upgrades in under 3 years. The bottom end of the seniority list at DAL has seen very good movement for the last couple of years and that trend will continue. The upper end though, notsomuch, but I think that will be changing in the not too distant future.

I have to ask what reason one would want to choose SWA over DAL if you could drive to work at either company in the same place? For the life of me I cannot come up with a single reason. Stability of both companies is on a par. Upgrade time, variety of flying QOL in general are not even close imho.

It is a nice problem to have regardless. I hope he lets us know what he decides.

 

This is the tale of two Deltas: if you’re on narrowbodies, it was the best of times; if you’re on widebodies, it was the worst of times.

Yes you can upgrade sooner at Delta, on narrowbody fleets. Widebody flying continues to be very senior. If you want to be able to upgrade on a Delta widebody, you better be younger than 35 when you get hired due to all the people hired in the past four years. Also plan on it taking 3-5 years to be the plug as an FO on a widebody.

Having said all that, there is a reason people choose to be an FO on a widebody even though they are able to hold Captain on a narrowbody. That should tell you something.

 

Ten years I think would have been correct for present and last 10 yrs, but with approx. 1800 pilots hired 2017-2018, growth, Hawaii market, and retirements beginning, I have been told expect 8 yrs or less in the future.

 

And some will upgrade to narrowbody captain as soon as they can. What should it tell you other than there are options?

Some pilots cannot handle time zone changes. Strange as it is, I would rather do South America or Asia than Europe because of the way the time works.... for me. Some people just HATE being tired all the time. Widebody flying isn't for everybody so there ARE pilots that will upgrade for that reason. Some pilots actually like to fly airplanes so they will upgrade for that reason. I actually like the occasional domestic trip, and I don't mind going thru ATL. Some guys like transcons. I personally hate them. Turns? Not for me because I commute. Reserve? See previous answer. (Reserve on a narrowbody in base can be very lucrative).

Sorry for the diatribe, but focusing on the senior part of any category and using that to draw a conclusion about the majority of the pilot group is folly. I think the bottom line is that what we have at DAL that they do NOT have at SWA is options, and I think that is what the OP should look at.

 

The fact that you have a CJO and thus kept an updated app and interviewed with DAL tells me you have an idea of what you want to do.

There have been guys with more time at company that you who have come from SWA and JetBlue, it's all what you want to decide for yourself. Don't worry about what others think.

 

Why not Jumpseat on a legacy 757 transcon and see how easy it is to get 5.5hrs credit in 6.5hrs duty? That will surely help you decide your fate.

 

I applied to everyone, SWA (in my top 3) called and started me right away, the other two were late to call, but did. One factor is I am not sure if we want to stay in ATLANTA....that aside, I do like working for SWA, I am happy.... I never thought I would be in this position and I’m am just learning the most I can. This displacement stuff with MD88 is so Greek to me. Hard to understand it and what it would mean if I got into Delta now, what 5yrs down the road would look like.

 

Haha, this part made me laugh. It really is a cool job and beats sitting at a desk any day but people often gloss over that. Granted airline flying is monotonous and not the most exciting flying but it still beats actually working. I like your perspective about options. One man’s trash is..

 

Well said and please bear in mind I’m not casting aspersions on narrow boby pilots. The fact remains that when looking at the plug on the widebodies, they are fairly senior in both seats in all bases. When deciding on leaving SWA for Delta to fly international, one needs to realize it may take a while.

Many narrowbody Captains are coming from the 2014-2015 ranks. Those pilots can hold widebodies, but many choose narrowbody Captain. However, many of those senior to them seem to be staying put on the widebodies.

It’s about $40/hr more to work 4 legs a day for 4 days to make that Captain pay vs 2 legs total in the same 4 day period while sleeping a third of the time and having beers in Germany. For some that works, for others it doesn’t work. YMMV

 

The MD88 displacements are because the airplane is going away. The airplanes replacing it are much more modern so it's likely they won't go quite as junior as the MD88 did. It's not a bad thing for new hires that it's going away when it comes down to it.


For reference, new hires are going to, or holding in short order, every base at DAL except MSP.


I think Delta provides much more options as far as schedule type etc, but if you're happy where you are it's a decision for you to make.