Just got hired at Delta, but currently live near ORD. Wife and I have twins in school and it was hard for them to make friends so she doesn't want to move. What would be the best commute and aircraft to bid for? Looking for advice.

 

When I was MSP based I always heard the ORD commute wasn't bad. Probably MSP and DTW.

 

D E T R O I T, Any NB (320, 73, or 717). If you somehow got the chance to bid for the 350 or 330, I'd jump on that in an instant. Very commutable trips. Congrats, and Good Luck.

 

There are plenty of ORD-NYC flights too. Mostly on the A220 currently.

 

What could go wrong commuting between two of the worst airports in America?? I used to do this commute. It’s terrible. DTW and MSP would be best, until you can get your wife to move!!!

 

DTW anything. 717 may have more 1 day trips but is most junior. Otherwise many 3 and 4 day trips for other aircraft, many commutable on at least one end. A320 is the larger fleet and growing quickly so it may get you more senior for easier trips? ORD to DTW is driveable if you absolutely must, though you probably never will. As others have said, if you can get a widebody fleet(330, 350) that's it. Hotels are cheap in DTW too. NYC imo is too twitchy with ground stops and weather delays. MSP is much more senior than DTW.

 

may I ask why you didn't seek out AA or UAL, giving you live near ORD ?

 

Perhaps he did and they just didn’t call?

 

Anything smoking to DTW. MSP generally tends to run more senior. NYC is...well NYC.

 

Welcome to Delta. I am an ORD commuter and have commuted to CVG, NYC, ATL, NYC, MSP, DTW, ATL, NYC, and now MSP. NYC was the worst, because it’s NYC. I never had a hard time getting to work, but summertime, in the afternoon, if there is a cell anywhere east of Pittsburgh, delays begin. Lots of flights between us, UAL, and AAL out of LGA though. ATL is a pretty easy commute…flights every hour almost and when adding UA and AA, more than every hour. The best part about ATL commute right now is we have a really late flight to ORD, like 10:50 PM or so, so it helps a lot with back end commutability of trips. DTW is probably the safest commute because (depending on where in Chicago area you live) it’s about a 4.5 hour drive, so if you get a last minute reserve assignment, you can drive it and still get some sleep before report. But that’s when it was 12 hour call out, with 18 hours, you probably won’t have to worry about driving.
Now to MSP…..I was trying to get DTW to escape from NYC (A320 Captain) but got MSP on a bid in 2019. I figured I would bid DTW when I could be a little senior but I discovered a little secret about MSP and it has caused me to stay for 4 years now….there are a TON of local pilots in MSP, I’m going to kick myself for letting this secret out, but what that means for commuters is that the commutable trips don’t get gobbled up by the senior guys, like they do in NYC, DTW, and a lesser extent in ATL. Even when I was at 80% in category, I never had a hard time getting mostly commutable trips. MSP is a little more senior, but the way things are going,if it’s not offered in indoc, you can get an award for MSP A320 or 737 within 6 months, assuming we have an AE within those 6 months. Plenty of mainline flights so you can reserve the jumpseat, and several UA and AA flights too. There are a LOT of AA and UA commuters too, plus regional pilots too, but I’ve never had a tough time getting on a flight. Reserve the JS and plan your commute to work on us, then hit the ground running when you finish your trip and catch the first ride out of town.

I hope this helps, anyone senior to 2000 hire, disregard everything you read here, MSP is a horrible commute.