July A320 Rotations
 

Just when I think they can't get any worse. I'm stunned at how bad the July trips are on ATL 320. And by bad I mean fatiguing, high duty day, short layovers, but mostly the lack of commutability. Pick 4 day trips for any given day. Start times after 10:30am, duty off before 10:30pm. 10 rotations on a given day, only *2* of them duty out before 10:00pm. That means in order to make the trip commutable on both ends, you have to have everything go right and better hope you're not delayed 20 minutes. Or you're spending the night in ATL. So many trips are 3-2-2-3. Layovers are 14:30, 12:15, 10:40. I'm so tired at work now I can't go do anything on a layover. That's not enough time to get food, exercise, anything. Just buzz like a drone bee back and forth and collapse in your hotel room so you can wake up and do it all over the next day. The optimizer has wrung every ounce of joy out of this job. And for the newer guys it was NOT always like this.

I absolutely loathe coming to work now.

Meanwhile, 67% NYC 7ER doing a 3 day, 2 leg with 35hr layover. JFK-LAX-JFK. Off RES, on a QS.

The 320 bid pack going to garbage was part of why I bailed off NYC 320A as soon as my seat lock was up. I was getting worse trips at 70% in 2024 than I was at 96% in 2022.

At the time I took a 20% seniority hit, but now I'm actually at 67 vs 73%

The optimizer definitely seems to hammer some categories worse than others. 320 used to have a lot of "transcon or almost so" followed by JFK-BOS/DCA/BWI

Something has to give. IIRC, there was an entire question/section in the contract survey around ALPA having full rotation construction control…. They are getting out of hand.

The problem is even if the union has total control, there is only so much you can do when you don't have enough pilots to cover the volume of flying.

Ill take my chances 😂

The only way they will learn is if the system breaks. Call in fatigued when you're fatigued. Don't press to get the on time on plane changes in ATL. Stop calling it a mission and don't do everything in your power to make it work at the expense of your personal health or safety or in the interest of a commute.

It is really sht that they are putting the customer and you in this position.

This. I'm not skipping getting a real meal during a 8+ hour duty day. What other job would "we expect you to skip lunch and just poop in the closet vs real bathroom" as the plan going in.

Sorry if "unappetizing meal is not considered a failure of service" nevermind the inability to pick our meals, that means I'm likely stopping for a meal break. And the healthy (or least bad) options aren't always between gate a and gate b.

They are right back in a lot of the domestic rotations to the "we plan unrealistic turn times, and if you delay at all you time out / miss a DH later in the day"

That's a DL problem. Not a me problem.

I'm not going to go eat at the F concourse food court when my flight came in at T1 and leaves from T4, but I'm also going to get an actual meal and sit down and eat it. (I have done some of the ATL rotations they Y code, and they are mostly hot garbage Mouse Express stuff)

I havent heard a FO say anything to the point of "we have to get the MISSION done" in over a year. I hope the FOs aren't hearing it from too many Captains.

I love how Delta always talks about mitigating threats, but yet they create so many. They say when you are fatigued you may not even notice it. But build horrendous schedules. They are putting the safety call on pilots, cause they sure arent helping.

Every trip I get on the 320 anymore is a 3-2-3 or 3-2-2-3 with the longest duty day as the last day following the shortest layover. Typically 10.5-11 hour duty days following 10.5-11 our (as scheduled) layovers following flights that arrive around midnight. Sometimes that last day will have a 2+ hour sit just to let you marinate in it.

It would be comical if it weren't so maddening. My inkling is that they know you'll be fine before beginning leg 2 and won't fatigue out on your last day in the middle of the penalty lap, so you'll just suck it up.


Yeah, yeah, yeah..."talk to your reps." I get it. But that ain't fixing anything. Yes, I have called in fatigued a lot this year. No, I don't skip meals and I tell everyone I fly with to not fly hungry and take your time getting fed. I am over it in a big way.

I used to tell my FO’s; This ain’t 30 seconds over Tokyo or Bridges at Toko Ri. This is Ma and Pa Kettle going to see the grandkids. It’s NOT a mission.

And same issues on the 717. I’m pretty senior and it’s tough to avoid trips I’d once never consider flying. It’s reminding more of my ASA days every month.