This was one comment about the ER that seemed most realistic and applicable. Just watched the last townhall with JL and interesting enough someone asked about the future plans of the ER. They go into talking about purchasing a 757 sim to help the training backlog and how limited 757 sims are availability wise around the world. Furthermore states we will continue to see positions opening up on the fleet in future AE's. JL steps in to add that if people are wondering what the long term future plan of the ER is, we have a "long term commitment to the 75/76 as that is why we are looking at purchasing 757 simulators".

So I am a little confused with everyone saying avoid the fleet like the plague as it's only going to be doomed with shrinking from here on out? Maybe it's me trying to justify why on earth I bid LAX7ER in the first place, but I'm lost. Certainly 321neo's will take out 757 to Hawaii, but like someone else said it's unlikely all of that takes over immediately (which was another thing addressed and answered in same townhall about 321neos).

I guess maybe you guys are talking about long term bidding perhaps and the fact the ER is never going to be what it once was. But so far it appears the airline doesn't have enough metal to fly the demand we want. I'm so low it doesn't really matter and thankfully my 2 year seat lock will be half done by the time I even get typed on the airplane because of this double train scenario. But here's to going into LAX7ER with more optimism than pessimism that I might get some decent flying out of it despite doing lots of redeyes. Which I would have probably done anyways unless I stay 220.

My hopes is that there's still a few years left of decent west coast flying on it to holdover the time it takes for the 330's to get delivered and just bid over to one of those, assuming our hiring numbers hold with that they say.

 

Aren't they also refurbishing the ERs with new interior ???
IMO I don't see the ERs going anywhere until we get a replacement, and with this management...
A lot of seniors FOs on the ER took upgrades because of the ER "not being what it used to be" which is true.
Whatever your choice is, make the best of it.

 

If you care more about pay per day worked than you do total dollars (without being tethered to ARCOS), then it's very easy to see, commuter or not. As an example, take a look at LAX 350B/7ERA in August. 350B is working 12 days and getting 85:45 hours of pay. A 7ERA would have to get three 4-day trips that average 23:36 to make the same pay/day gone...quick look through the wide report shows very few even break 21 hours. That said, noone who didn't have vacation is only working 12 days on the 7ERA next month. If they did, their pay is more likely down at 63 hours, which would be ~$2k LESS than the 350B in this scenario. I know you absolutely love the crack that is GSs, but let's take those out of the conversation for a minute because those aren't always flowing, and this may be hard for you to believe, but not everyone likes to base their lives around them. In fact, many pilots would back contractual changes that, while good for most, would likely have a secondary impact of reducing GS's.


Don't bid a plane based on your "chances" for a greenslip. When I got on the 73N as a new hire it was GS city and the 320 was barely getting any. Fast forward a year or so and the GS dried up on the 73N and 320s went hog wild. GS are great and all, but don't base your life around them.

 

The 757's and ER's aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future due to the simple fact that there is no replacement. And travel is rebounding faster than anyone predicted. Delta wants something that's still on someone's drawing board somewhere.

It's a seller's market right now.

Schoolhouse rumor (rumour if you drink tea.)

 

I sense alittle bit of animosity here against GSs. It's all about flexibility. A couple strategic WSs was even mentioned in the 350 example. I agree 100% if you prefer pay per day worked than you do total dollars the 350 is better, but that type of flying overwhelmingly is favored by a commuter. Sure an in base pilot would also have more days off, but several of those days off will be recovering from "international fog". For some the health benefits of upgrading and living in base is worth it even flying a couple extra days. Moreover, with domestic fully recovered and Intl still far from it, the "Earnings Power" of a pilot strongly favors domestic A. Even senior 717As are doing 350k+.

Not trying to make this a Intl B vs Domestic A war, as it all comes down to pilot preference. When it comes to pay per day WB B is unquestionably superior.

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Not at all, I'm extremely senior in my seat, live an hour from base and have no kids, I have no problems jumping on an advantageous GS. I have my August schedule set up nicely for a GS opportunity and I'll likely pass on a few before taking the best GS for me. I just know lots of pilots don't partake as many just don't have the time available and/or can't deal with the uncertainty of the reserve GS game (family situation). Some just don't want to work that much and would prefer the days they do work, pay them more. Also, it comes back to the fact that GS's can (and likely will) dry up at any time on your fleet. Counting on them for those high earnings, it's a great plan.

That said, I much prefer an airline that is staffed properly. You mentioned flexibility, nothing provides more flexibility than having proper staffing. If that drives down the number of GS's handed out, I'm OK with that.


They also favor many non-commuters, especially if you can sit SC at home...that's A LOT of time spent at home. I don't disagree that international has its downsides wrt to sleep, it's actually something I've voiced on here before. However, so do domestic trips that flip-flop between am/pm flying. Domestic multi-leg, 7+ block hour days are extremely detrimental to ones health as well, especially when you end up on the opposite coast. I found recovering from a long, international leg is not much different than recovering from a transcon redeye.

Oh I don't disagree with you there. I just don't automatically dismiss people that say they'll make more in the right seat than the left...mainly because I view "earnings" through the lens of pay/day worked. Relying on GS or working 15+ days/month for that, isn't great either.

 

Overall I think the key flexibility is Seniority. There's days worked and also quality of days worked. As a senior domestic A told me why do I need to go all the way to Tokyo when I can just go to Savanah in the evening and fly back in the morning for 10:30. Granted I wouldn't want to do that my whole career he did make an excellent point. As a senior 73NB, I can vouch for the QOL benefits of "block hour surfing" aka drop all your trips, WS turns, out and backs to get to GS trigger and GS here and there on the weekends. Beautiful thing about this airline is there is something for everyone. Heck if I became independently wealthy and no longer needed to work my next bid would definitely be Widebody B. Preferably somewhere I'd be the most senior on Reserve.

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GS tend to flourish when flexibility is low. I often hear people say “Green slips are optional”…of course that’s true, but if everyone in the category has access to one or more per month, it’s likely that everyone in the category struggles to drop or swap trips or reserve days they were awarded but don’t want. Personally, I like a staffing model that gives some limited premium pay opportunities, mostly to senior (in their category) pilots, schedule flexibility for everyone, and consistent income potential from year to year. If you want or need more money, get senior somewhere or move to higher paying equipment. Obligating middle-seniority pilots to work their arses off every month so everyone has the “option” to green slip isn’t my version of a sustainable and enjoyable career. Finding yourself in that situation once or twice a career seems acceptable. Being in a perpetual state of forced productivity year after year…that sounds awful. Plenty of us and our families consider 200k to be more than enough annual income and would rather not yield significant quality of life (or cede our summers) just so 717As can have bursts of 350k/year income. I want to applaud you big earners that enjoy being on a short ARCOS leash, but what’s good for the goose ain’t necessarily good for the gander. I like a system that lets folks work as much or as little as they would like (within reason), but our running-hot status quo is a long way from that personal freedom.

 

Flexibility is enhanced by seniority. If you are senior you are usually awarded weekday trips when coverage is better. The 737 is one of the most staffing constrained fleets. I was able to straight drop 3 trips and someone on the swap board picked up the 4th. 22% seniority

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Cool story. Personal anecdotes abound. The sad fact of the matter is that thousands of Delta pilots, at all seniority levels and in both seats have found themselves - through no fault or intentional choice of their own - in categories with 10% or fewer blue days of Reserve coverage…for half or more of the year. With infrequent and unpredictable AEs, it is a slow process to escape such a category, and there’s no guarantee escaping any given category will help someone escape an undermanned situation.