I was told that our actual acquisition cost per MD90 was about 9 million. That takes into account the trade of three rj's per plane. even if it costs the same to get them line ready (which seems a little high) thats 18 mil. So we get and airplane with over 150 seat capacity for less than halve the cost of a new 70 rj. not mention all mx and training programs are already in place.

Dude, I thought we were going to be in class together, well, you can still call me sir then...

DT

It is great to see the RJs being traded in for mainline planes and jobs!

Noted....sir.

An airplane that has a Range of 2100nm and has a capacity of near a DC9 is in NO WAY a Regional Aircraft.. in my opinion the CRJ700, 900 and the EMB 170 175 need to be at MAIN LINE PERIOD.. what the Hell Happen to Scope. also explain if Ma Delta is getting rid of the RJs why was Pinnacle, Comair, Mesa awarded the CRJ 900, Maybe I am not seeing the BIG PICTURE

Blk Flyer - your instincts are correct.

But, Ma Delta is not getting rid of RJ's. They are allowed to increase in numbers 3 to 1 with the addition of each mainline aircraft. Delta flying will be more than 50% performed by contractors (if that is not already the case).

I guess the issue might be that the RJ's are now financed by third party operators instead of Ma Delta. Comments I've been reading elsewhere suggest that Delta is being careful and conservative with fleet purchases. (Delta's fleet is young by NorthWest standards :rolleyes:)

Mainline airplanes are more efficient CASM and with the limitations of traffic flow at hub airports you and I can hope the trend swings back towards mainline aircraft and we (Delta pilots and Delta Management) do not negotiate to send more flying out the door to contractors.

"Have dones",

Could anyone give me any guidance on the preferred color of the tie?

How red? I guess not too red to take attention away, but what shade? Cardinal or Crimson?

No, I am not gay, just that attention to detail thing.

Thanks

Pink with purple polka dots! I've heard that the first person with a tan suit would get a dinner with the execs for their courage. I don't take any responsibility with that though!

Heard BB say that when he hears of someone showing up in a brown suit he will drop everything, take them to lunch, and give them a Crown Club Card!!

Seriously, suit and tie colors DO NOT MATTER as long as it looks sharp and professional!!! Crisp suit, pressed shirt, matching tie, polished shoes. It's a big league interview just dress the part.

-SS

Oh, and good luck!!

In a room full of guys wearing navy blue suits with white shirts and burgundy ties, do you want to be the one guy with a brown suit?

Sound wisdom.

What has brown done for you?

There is no limit on RJs. The 3 to1 you reference is for the 76 seaters. They can add three 76 seaters for every one mainline aircraft added. However, the limit on the combination of 70 and 76 seaters is 200.

I think the RJ50 is dead. I don't worry about them. So we do have a limit on effective RJs.

Having said that, I think our MEC will give up more 70 and 76 seaters next time around.

I hope to god not. But as we speak Republic is putting the 170's on the UAL side and adding 175's to the DAL side. They will have 76 seats in them, but they are designed for near 90 seats with a first class section to boot. They currently are 500 lbs below the scope max with the current configuration. That said, it is a big jet that will take away your slot at DAL. Currently 60% of all DAL flying is DCI. If there is a bump to the scope limit, it will make all domestic short of a 737-800 and 757 DCI. Be careful what you wish for. Do you really want to fly that for the remainder of your career. I would prefer it to be my entry level jet at DAL, not my cap.

You are correct. Any further bumps in scope will affect Delta pilot jobs. But it will happen, trust me. Give it a while, learn what you can about Lee Moak, Jim White,Tim Cannol and the other wussies in the MEC administration. It's coming. They will sell out the junior and future Delta pilots if they can get even one dollar an hour more for their 7ER seat.

Funny thing is that those ER seat are going to new hires because the pay is not worth the sacrifices.

well, I said thier ER seat. They are all captains in ATL. My point is, they will sell out the junior pilots to serve their own interests. It happened on LOA 51 and it will happen again.

At a bare minimum, DALPA will cave on more 76 seaters. I have zero doubt about that. I fear they will allow outsourcing on a limited number of 100 seaters. And of course, the Delta pilot group, sheep that they are, will vote yes for anything the MEC puts in front of them.

Jeesh, that would make a good Delta career move into a nightmare scenario. Let us hope it does not happen.

For perspective, the current deal was negotiated knowing that bankruptcy could abrogate the entire contract. Mainline pilots are cost competitive on the 70 & up flying. They should hold the line, or move it towards Delta pilots doing a majority of Delta flying.

Any news on the bid assignments for today's new hire class?

A mix of 7ER 767 M88 and 73N but the majority went to the wide bodies.

Do you know the domicile breakdown?

Check the other thread titled "Delta latest and greatest continued..."

I heard:

3 x 767ER JFK
12 x 76/75 ATL
3 x 73N NYC
2 x MD88 NYC
1 x 73N SLC

Are they predicting more ATL spots on the next class, or where they all taken by this class?

You never know how the drop will go. We had 0 ATL in mine, but you'll be able to bid back pretty quickly.

We now have an ER program for new hires? I was under the impression the Feds wouldn't allow it.

Tom

Nope we have an ER program for new hires. All of your 100 hrs has to be domestic after you are signed off. I think that it is two crossings in IOE and then you are on your own once you hit the 100 hr mark in type.

we didn't have a new hire program for the ER because it was never necessary, not because the feds wouldn't allow it.

DC commute on long reserve
 

The Delta shuttle from DCA to LGA starts at 6am and goes about every hour until 8:30pm, and there are 5 flights going from DCA to JFK. Is it reasonable to be on 12 long call reserve from DC to JFK?

No problem with ER flying. If you are talking about Dom if you get called the night before with an 0800 sign in at 2000 you will most likely not be able to make the trip with the legal backup flight much less the earliest flight in the morning. Since you live in DC you could always drive it with no problem. This scenario is very rare they usually asign next day flying much early than that.

I have done it from ATL. There is only about a half our at night that would make it difficult to be there in 12 hrs. From DCA it will be a piece of cake.

Most of the assignments come out around 8 to 9 in the morning. The only way you would get a shorter one is for an IROP or a sick out. It happens but not that often.

DC commute on long reserve part II
 

Thanks for the input. Question #2.

With the same commute from D.C. would you rather take 767ER JFK and risk being on reserve for 12-24 months, or MD-88 LGA and only be on reserve for a few months? Assume that pay is not the primary concern.

With the 88 you could bid DCA trips and be home every night. That is something that money could never buy. There are also a lot of trips that start with a dead head from LGA to DCA, allowing you to start the trip from home. It all depends on what you want to do. The ER will probably be junior in JFK for sometime to come, allowing you to go to it in a year or two and hold a line. I would go to the 88. It is an aircraft that is good to see from the right seat before you have to upgrade on it. The people on the shuttle are great and 50% of the overnights that it does are in your home town. When you get sick of five leg days you can bid trips that go to FL and back for a change. With PBS you can alternate what you do by week. I liked the shuttle and am very glad that I got to do it.

Wow. Thanks for the gouge. I've heard about flying the shuttle and going home every night, but now I'm sold. Do you know any gouge about parking at DCA? Does Delta provide anything?

Have you ever bid reserve? How often do you get called? I've been told that you are on reserve 16 days a month, with a maximum of 8 days on short 2 hour call. Does that get you 70 hours of pay?

I've been off and on reserve for the last two years. You will fly a lot. Only once have I only ended up with 70 hours. Many months, I end up over 80. In the summer, with the rolling greenslips, I had three straight months over 100 hours pay for about 70 hours of flying.

I'm a new hire awaiting class date, so I'm not familiure with all the lingo. Thanks for all the good info, which is sparking more questions.

What are rolling greenslips?
How many days a month are you on reserve? Long call? Short call?
How do you get 100 hours pay for 70 hours of flying?
Is there an order on who gets called in?
Do you get a preference of I want to fly or rather not?
What is an IROP?
I am still wondering about parking at DCA, and what Delta provides?

I'm sure a lot of these questions will be answered when I start class, but I'm trying to get smart early. Being an ignorant military guy, I am very curious and excited to see how the system works.

A greenslip is basically a trip for overtime pay. This is a real basic explanation, but on reserve, you get a greenslip on your off days, and it is paid at straight rates above the reserve guarantee. The guarantee is 70 hours, so if you get a two day greenslip worth 10 hours, you are now up to 80 hours pay for the month even if you don't fly again. The beauty of a greenslip on reserve is you get your days off back. So you fly a two day greenslip on your days off. When you get your days off back, you put in another greenslip. Rolling greenslips. This also answers how you can get 100 hours pay for 70 or less of flying.

You are on call 18 days a month. You can be on short call up to 8 days a month. Short call is assigned at the discretion of the schedulers. I have had months where I got short call 8 times, I have had other months where I never got short call. Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason to the assignment of short call.

The order of who gets trips is determined by days of availability and the RAW score (more on that in a minute).

Days of availability meaning, if a two day trip pops up and you have two days left on call while everyone else has three of more days, you get the trip. If you only have two days left and a three day trip pops up, then one of the three day guys gets the trip.

Now, RAW score. I could post the formula but its too hard to understand. Basically, its a measure of how much you have flown. Roughly for each day you fly you get about 15 points. Now, lets say you have two guys on call. Each has four days available. Pilot one has a score of 65. Pilot two has a score of 85. If a four day trip comes up, it goes to the first pilot with the lower score since he has flown less.

Do you get a preference on flying or not? Not really. If you want to fly you can go in the computure and lower your RAW score by 15 points. But, as you can see in the above example, if pilot two wants to fly and lowers his score by 15 points, it would not change anything.....pilot one would still get that trip.

As far as parking goes, someone else will have to address that one.

IROP is irregular operations, and it really doesn't apply to pilots. Some of the FA rules are different under IROPS, but it has never come up for me.

Xray,

You are my hero! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

no problem. If my explanations of anything were too brief, or if you have more questions, just say so.

Since Delta has a Flt Att base in DC all commuting pilots are entitled to a parking pass. This is a contractual obligation for the company.