Thanks for the input,

1. B6 in my opinion has an upshot longterm but it's just a guess.
2. Not sure about bigger airplanes but we are starting London and other cities in Europe next year. Probably no widebodies unless there is a change in the board of director level.
3. I think a merger is the only way we will survive long term, but who knows.

How easy is it for a commuter to make extra money the first couple years at Delta?
Does a junior NB guy have to work really hard to get green slips etc?

Where are you commuting from? I’m gonna guess DEN?

IAD and DCA

Green slips are very easy to come by right now on most fleets. I wouldn't worry about being able to make money even as a commuter. That is once you're off reserve.

I did the DC to NYC commute for a year. Super easy, especially from DCA. The flights are on regionals, so you can’t reserve jumpseats, but the jumpseat is often open and they are shuttles so there are often open seats (I rarely had an issue, only on big weather days). And if you’re in the 220 or 717, you’ll be senior very quickly and your schedule becomes very controllable, including the ability to green slip. And depending on where exactly you live, driving to work is a backup option (mainly for EWR trips), which takes a lot of stress off commuting.

In the OP’s situation, the only reason I’d leave is if you think the future at B6 is bad.

I got on at Delta at 38 and it’s a great gig but I’ll be retiring at around 2500. That is a bottom feeder wide body guy or a moderately senior narrow body guy.

Joining at 40 today, I bet you won’t crack 3k. That will not get you into the top 10% of most narrowbody A slots.

I’d wager at B6 you’ll have many years in that top 10%.

In a few short years you say? The latest hiring cycle for y’all started 2014. So anyone in 2014-2016 is gonna do way better than someone starting now.

The problem with Delta is ya hired 4,000+ plus since 2014, and the avg age of a new hire is 37. So the math says more than 2,000 pilots today at Delta are below 37. A JetBlue guy starting at 40 is not going to crack to top 3,000. Highly unlikely to hold A350 CA.

Someone else posted a retirement chart that said Delta has 14,400 pilots right now and to be #7,000 based on retirements, that would be year 2031. Half way up the list takes 12 years. That’s a lot to consider. Not sure how 6 yrs at JetBlue looks but a guess is around 50-65% overall? Where would that JetBlue guy be in 12 years? Top 25%?


Being 40 with a wife and 2 kids giving up $260k to go down to $90/hr on probation would have to be a big risk consideration.

If you are 40 years old, you will be retiring somewhere in 2044. (Not sure when your birthday is.) If it is Jan 1st, you'll be at least #3120. If your birthday is Dec 31st, you'll be at least #2746. That's assuming no one younger than you retires early. This is a really rough guess, but even with just 1% pilot growth per year, our list will be 18,000-19,000 pilots in 2044. (Personally, I think it will be much higher). Since there will be early retirements, let's assume you finish around #2400, out of 19,000. That's 12% system seniority. Our plug 350 Captain is currently 20% system seniority. So yes, I believe you could be a widebody captain in your last few years if you came to Delta now.

Also, just to put it in perspective, there are a lot of retired military guys coming over at 42-45 years old. I was one of them. With 25 years to go, you are still young. The biggest question is can you handle a couple years earning less than you're making now?

Everyone is different but my first five years at Delta:

1) $86,000 (717 FO)....also note, this was under the last contract. Pay has gone up quite a bit since then.
2) $170,000 (717 FO)
3) $214,000 (717 FO / 7ER FO)
4) $202,000 (7ER FO)
5) $265,000 (7ER FO)

That is flight pay, per diem, and profit sharing. Does not include 401k.

Hopefully having some numbers will help you make the right decision.

Thanks a bunch for the info, it really helps put things into perspective for me financially. I'm sure there are many folks in the same shoes as myself and hope this helps with their decision too.

Merry Christmas!!!

You've got a good point which is what makes this decision much harder to make. I'm close to being the plug in JFK and schedule is not that great. I would give that up if it meant I would work less days for the same pay within a couple years. But not sure how QOL would be for a 2-3 year new hire on lets say that 320 fleet.