avi8tor220

Been on the ER for 3 years. 717 before that and 8 years of regional flying. The bad ER flying beats 717 and regional flying hands down. But and this is a big but I live 30 mins from all NYC airports so it might be different for someone that commutes.

Trip7

Yup. Likewise with the 73 flying. 717 was a fun airplane but schedules are extremely similar to regional flying

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SparkySmith

One reference is the Council 48 (Instructor) FAQ, which specifically says that fly month GSs pay your instructor rate but IGSs do not have that PWA protection, and therefore pay seat rate, not instructor rate. I haven’t found the PWA language to support that.


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JamesBond

No apology necessary amigo. You were probably not the only one that didn't know that. It's all good.

Scoop

Well if you are going to be on reserve the flying will range from great to horrible trips. The problem is being near the plug you will more often than not get the horrible trip. Two trips in open time, one good and one crap trip, you try to YS the good trip but it goes to Pilots senior to you. You will have little control over your schedule and will be working most if not all holidays and weekends.

This is true for not only the ER but all equipment, the problem is on junior NB equipment this "purgatory" is limited in duration as Pilots quickly and steadily come in below you, but if no one comes in below you can go your whole two years with little to no movement which gets frustrating. At first being new to the ER you probably will not mind but after a while we all adjust to our "situation" and that is when it gets frustrating. The good news is that "clock" is already ticking and the SLC to LAX commute should be pretty easy.

Scoop

DeadStick

Pilots complaining? You can’t be too surprised about that! Don’t overthink it! You’ve got a fantastic opportunity to fly an iconic airplane right out of the gate. It’ll still be a huge QOL boost coming from the regionals! If you like flying, the ER is one of the best and most enjoyable in the fleet. A nicely balanced interface between automation / pilot interaction (and I spent 6 years on the 320 and 88).

SLC-LAX commute isn’t too bad especially with PS commuting. You may even be able to sit long call from home if you’re ready to rush out the door in the evening (just be careful on probation). Guessing you’ll find most reserve assignments uncommutable on one end but that won’t be forever. You might also get some SLC overnights, plus the LAX ER captains are a good bunch.

I came off the CRJ to the “7ER” for a different company and I thought the transition was mostly easy. FMS is somewhat similar.

Enjoy the ride and get excited! It’ll take two years for the SJS to wear off, and then you’ve got all the exciting SLC options of 220/320/737. I’ve flown the “ER” for 5 cumulative years and I honestly still pinch myself, but I’m one of those guys that likes coming to work. 🤷‍♂️

*I might be “misremembering,” but isn’t it only a 1 year seat lock for new hires to change airplanes if the base they want doesn’t offer their current equipment, eg this situation?

PilotBases

Nobody is a “newhire” anymore. LOA 20-04 brought them all onto 717 Affected Pilot (off newhire pay) and they were included as part of the proffer, so they’re NQAT along with everybody else. Upside is off probation and onto year 2 pay, downside is one hell of a stressful year.

Drum

Been on the ER for almost 3 years. I'm NYC. Was on the 88 before that in NYC/ATL.

I've seen the schedules over the last 3 years decline drastically. Pretty terrible stuff really. There are a few transcon to 24 hours to transcon trips. However, with optimizer 6.9 maybe 2/3 of those will go as planned. If you see an ATL sit for > 2 hours. You'll be rerouted. I've even been rerouted sitting in the cockpit 25 min from push on my original trip, first leg, and got pulled for another flight. On the domestic side you are never immune.

Most of our trips are uncommutable on both ends. Most intl'l are, most domestic are not unless you get a BOG or any rotation with a red eye return. I don't know anything about LAX ER flying, but I do run across the LAX crews at o dark thirty at MCO.

I don't know what the "4 corners" plan will bring to the fleet. My guess is senior LA flyers get the Hawaii stuff and the bottom feeders get the bottom of the crappy domestic trips. Not much asia happening with the ER. From what I've seen of the rotations in NYC, it is going to look a lot like some 88 flying mixed with some 737 stuff. We'll still have some int'l but that always goes pretty senior. Seems network is using us a "fill all" airframe. It is a very versatile, capable jet.

I was told this awhile ago by some pilot friends that have been at DAL for a good few years: No one cares whether you were a regional captain, or what F-teen fighter or heavy you flew. We are Delta pilots now. As for me, I was both a F-teen pilot and a regional puke. So I got both of that stink on me.

If you can stomach the crappy domestic 7ER stuff (which for you coming in new, you really don't have a bench mark) then enjoy the fleet. LAX has a really good pilot group on the ER, same as NYC. Probably my 2 favorite bases for the ER.

I think the future is bus. So my plan is to get some more seniority to bid the NB A side of it in NYC. WB B is appealing, but I commute, not totally sold on all int'l flying all the time. Also, to really rake in $$$$ on WB B it pays to live in base and GS.

The best thing about this place is choices. Be careful though, their plans change like the wind. Today's charm might be tomorrows trash and vice versa.

FangsF15

I get what you are saying, but I'll bet the LCA's will disagree with the sentiment...

In all seriousness, they've had a pretty stressful year, and although they may all be on 717 year-2 pay currently, it was still a long stint on newhire pay for some, I would imagine. "Starting" off-probation seems like a pretty small consolation prize for what they've been through on the whole. Cue the pile-ons from those who will tell you they really had it tough when..., totally missing the point.

The important thing is it seems the worst is well behind us all, and it's blue skies going forward. Even if there is another "wave", the no-furlough provisions protect everyone on the list through 1 Nov 2022. The last AE was had more movement than we will likely ever see again.

PilotBases

Yes 100%. A bad situation for them that thankfully is over. I know it wasn’t my favorite year, but it’s nice to see shoots of recovery and come out of this as the biggest airline without a single furlough.