Ditto. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the only times I have, worked great but I wouldn't want to do it every month. With the coverage issues now, it may be tough. WS in and out of base are before RES. If done correctly RES even YS are skipped when a QS is sent out.

 

Unlikely. Probably just projecting 7 people leaving.

Most likely scenario is when they move to close the DTW category and consolidate all 717 flying to ATL, they will have one single displacement bid at the bitter end.

 

So is there a base that has better trip composition between the two?

 

Same. Furthermore, I can't imagine going in with the game plan of YSing to full, just to get extra pay by YSing above...that is A LOT of work on the 717. I kind of get it for those attempting to get Christmas off, but on more than one occasion I've seen guys come up just short, then get a trip over Christmas anyway...ugh!



No, the trips suck equally at both bases and in general, the best you'll see are 3-2-3 three days. There are the occasional good deal trips here and there, but for the most part, the trips don't change that much. You'll see more 4-leg days in ATL, but they're about the same duty day as DTW 3-leg days. If you like day trips, unless you can clear your schedule and live locally, this isn't the place for you. Delta has and odd aversion to building anything more than a few lines worth of day trips.

 

At what percentage difference would changing fleets be worth it for better seniority?

I've been 98% 7ER A in ATL for the past the past two years. When I originally decided to take it, I was planning on staying until they retired the fleet understanding that movement was going to be little to none. It hasn't been bad at all actually, since I live in base and became a bit of a reserve ninja. Recently though the whole pre-posted rest crap seriously tanked my QOL. Between reserve assignments out of seniority and out of RUO, and slips being ignored, it's made things significantly worse and took away what little control I had managed to carve out for myself. Now it's basically a free for all. Looking at the projections, in the Fall I'd be about 75% 717 A and about 85% 73N A in ATL. Basically junior lineholder or just on the edge. Would that be enough of an increase to justify switching over, the difference in trips, and in the 717 case the pay difference? I'm in no rush to jump. Waiting to see if the "quick TA" happens (doubt it) and what that would look like, as well as if I can re-learn how to work with this new status quo. I won't like that the thought has been crossing my mind more than a few times.

 

Different for everybody.

For me, it's all about coverage days (holding the days off I want.) Each fleet is different, and you can check bid results, but generally better than 70-75ish percent coverage awards become far less common, though still might get caught on holidays, especially if you're committed to either RES or REG. Below 50% it would be extremely rare/unusual to get coverage as either a REG or RES, but if you bid days off for BOTH REG/RES it's pretty much guaranteed to get the days off you want. Some months RES coverage goes deeper, others REG does, but both going below 50% would be extremely odd.

 

Just to follow on my previous post, here's a recent graph I had made tracking coverage awards for the ATL717B category over a roughly 2.5 year period. It's a few months out of date.

This particular chart doesn't break out RES vs REG. What it does do is show the % seniority it took to completely avoid coverage regardless of RES/REG (the orange line), and how deep the coverage might go if you were committed to either RES or REG (the Grey line.)

The Blue line represents the mean (average) between those 2. This blue line is where I get my idea that below 70% "mostly" avoids coverage for a flexible bidder (willing to get either REG or RES to hold days off), and below 50% virtually guarantees that same bidder to ALWAYS get the days off they want.



YCMV (Your category may vary.)

 

This is great information, thanks! I've been slammed with coverage the whole time so far but was always able to get rid of some of the days through X-day moves. Now with pre-posted rest nuking the reserve grid the evening of the 19th, it's made it harder. I can usually hustle my way by moving stuff earlier into the month when coverage gets worse but it's more limiting, just like everything else since their recent "reinterpretations". I like this idea of looking at it to be able to consistently avoid coverage in the first place.

 

At the back of everyone's mind, I think, when it comes to seat seniority, is where do you want to be when the sweet song of premium flying stops. Where your monthly bid is what you fly and you fly what you bid.

That's not the current reality for many, with all the premium available.

But when I want to make plans for 1,2,6, 12+ months from now, knowing if I can hold days off without coverage during PBS bidding is important to me. To me that's <70% seniority at a minimum, and <50% as a certainty.

This is just my take, prioritizing days off.

Prioritizing money-making is an entirely different dynamic.

 

I want to be widebody captain genius when the music stops.