Hitch18

Hi all,

Just looking to get some feedback and opinions on my commuting options if I were able to land a job with Delta. I'm currently a military pilot with no airline experience so I don't understand the important details of commuting and I want to be aware of what I'm getting myself into to max extent possible.

Details:
Living in Calgary YYC
Planning on commuting to SEA or SLC
Would like A320 initially, A330 eventually
4 flights a day between YYC and KSEA but are with Alaskan and WestJet
2 flights a day between YYC and SLC on Delta.
Have wife and 3 kids. QOL and time at home is important
US citizen with ATP

So my initial questions are:

1. Is there anything preventing me from commuting from Canada?
2. I'm assuming A320 would work about 15 days a month. More or Less?
3. Is there any issue with commuting on other airlines. I'm assuming lower priority.
4. I have an offer with Westjet. Should I keep it simple and work in base even though pay it at least half of Delta.

Thanks everyone. Any input is appreciated.

tennisguru

1. There is nothing that says you can't commute from another country. We've got a number of pilots who do that.
2. Probably pretty close. You may be able to drop/swap down the fewer days worked if you're also willing to take the commensurate pay hit. 10-12 days/month flying at Delta may still pay a lot more than Westjet.
3. The only thing I can think of is a lot of times you cannot ride in the cockpit jumpseat on other airlines internationally. Definitely something you're going to want to look into as far as the policies on WJ and Alaska.
4. Only you can make that call. Are you tied to Calgary for the long term? Plans to eventually move? Maybe even stay in Canada but be close to a Delta base where driving is a possibility like Vancouver to SEA or near YYZ to DTW?

Hitch18

1. Good to know. Thank you.
2. I didn't know dropping it swapping down was a thing. That sounds pretty interesting to me and I think that could be a good happy medium.
3. I'll look into that further
4. Well be in Calgary for the foreseeable future. Eventually we would like to buy a winter home somewhere in Arizona and commute from there during the cold months.

Thank you for your response. I really appreciate any help I can get.

Planetrain

Pay and work rules are substantially better at DL/UA/AA/WN than Westjet, even with their new AIP.
Worst case buy a ticket YYC to SLC/SEA/MSP and you are still money ahead.
Westjet is a nice airline, but be prepared to do loooong duty days.
There’s some former Westjet pilots at DL. Maybe they can chime in. Canadians don’t have FAR117. It makes a difference.

WSPLT

Nothing preventing you from commuting from Canada, just be aware that you will have to pay the international taxes but only on your southbound trips, works out to a little under $50USD each time.
You will not be able to ride in the cockpit jumpseat on international flights on other carriers, and I believe the same would apply to domestic flights within Canada. Despite that, in my experience it has been a little easier to get on flights with Canadian carriers but YMMV.

You may not get your base of choice with Delta right away, but some do. MSP might be a good option if you get that choice too, looks like there are two direct flights daily, and they're Delta mainline so I believe you could ride the jumpseat on those. We can reserve the jumpseat ahead of time as well.

A friend of mine tried commuting from YYC to SEA about 5 years ago, didn't work well for him. That said, it was for a regional, work rules and schedule weren't as good and pay was much less than what you'll get at Delta. Also, quite a bit has changed since then.

Only you can decide if the commute will work for you. Might be a bit painful at first until you get settled into the base you want, but pay is MUCH better. Many Canadian pilots I have talked to would love to be able to work at a US carrier, but just don't have that option.

flyforever1978

As somebody that has commuted for a majority of my 20+ year career, I would not recommend doing an international commute as 1) A new-hire and 2) To a domestic NB position. NB trips often start much earlier than WB trips and end much later at night at Delta and being junior, you will most likely end up with those in the beginning. This would mean you would need to come to work a day early and pay for a hotel or have a crash pad. I believe you also need to list for a jumpseat at least 24 hours prior for international jumpseating, which can complicate last minute schedule changes and re-routes (which you will be subject to A LOT at Delta). You would potentially be spending the last day of your trip in a hotel/crash pad as well. International commuting is doable, but it is MUCH easier after you have some seniority or can get onto a WB category... just my 2c.

sailingfun

74 minutes prior for a international jumpseat.