They don't tell you that you can't upgrade, they just said that when you do upgrade, you'll be out of the mentor program. They ask for 2 years, but it's by no means a requirement and I knew multiple who didn't make it the entire 2 years. About a year after I upgraded, they e-mailed and asked me if I was interested in rejoining the program. As a Captain on junior fleet, every flight ends up being a mentor session as I answer questions about "how do I."

Yeah, there’s no contractual way to enforce that as a requirement. But they’re well aware that pilots with their sights set on CPO, duty pilot, training dept, or 4th floor positions will absolutely abide by it.

Something like, what, 1/3 of the pilot group hired in the past 3-4 years?

Sure, you might get assigned a CA mentor who's been on the property for 18 months and is an autistic contract guru/sharpshooter.

(Only a fool wouldn't burn up the phone lines and their goodwill exploiting that happenstance.)

Most pilots get "the average." Because that's what "average" means.

Mentors give what they have, and God bless them for it. But all mentors aren't created equal.

Social media (alas) and word-of-mouth provides the remainder.

Interesting perspectives about being NH mentor and pay. I signed up as soon as I could because I wanted to provide good help to those coming behind me, since I had mentors (both in official capacity and informal) help pave the way for me.

There's probably a few mentors doing it in an effort to climb the ladder, but at least in my circumstance it's an opportunity to help new hires navigate Delta and our PWA. In my time doing it so far I've had the chance to help prevent someone from getting in further trouble with the CPO and also been able to take on a mentee who was having a bad experience with another mentor. I'd do it for free because I am primarily serving the pilots, not the company. If that makes me some kind of chump then I am at peace with it.

Not a chump. I have several buddies that do it because they want to help other pilots and want nothing to do with CPO or any other route.

Chump is your word and too strong in my opinion. Chump implies a flaw on your part, which there is none. I would use accessory or crutch. Delta exploits the sense of community and goodwill amoung pilots to reduce costs like training and mentorship. My problem is with the lack of compensation for your time and effort.

Agreed. The company deems the mentor program an essential part of new hire onboarding. Many of the reasons are in the company’s own interest. They would absolutely pay pilots to be part of the program if volunteers stopped doing it for free.

If the company is going to continue to refuse to pay for the program, then I’d rather see it moved under the ALPA umbrella with no management oversight.

Tough to argue against that.

Maybe ALPA could do it better here, though it would cost us resources to maintain. At my previous carrier ALPA was in charge of it and it was an absolute waste of a program, though they had systemic issues that might not apply here, like ALPA not having official access to new hires until after OE or a revolving door of ALPA volunteers leaving for the majors.

If all mentors quit because of no pay, I agree with you. But I think there will always be enough people willing to climb the ladder and view the position as an entry to that goal. Those who want to just help pay it forward should (in my opinion) help offset the ones who are in it for themselves.

I'm thinking of switching to Delta Pilots dental plan from the comprehensive plan. It seems like the better deal for my family's situation. However, I have some unused lifetime orthodontic benefit left over from my youngest daughter ($800ish) that she will be needing this year. Delta Dental is telling me that if I switch from comprehensive to Pilots plan, I will lose the remainder of that benefit. Does that sound right? My understanding is both plans are Delta Dental, just different options. I like the Pilots dental plan, but don't want to eat that $800 orthodontic benefit....Thanks in advance if anyone knows about this!!