I'd caveat by saying to submit when you are certain that the information is accurate and representative of who you are as a professional. There's always small changes you can make to fine tune but don't submit without speed tickets, checkride failures or the like expecting to add those later.

I’d like to get some opinions or pros/cons from anyone on a Delta vs. United decision. Currently have a CJO to both and am trying to gather as much data as possible to make a good decision. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Looking more for a company perspective. My family wants to settle down on west coast, both airlines have good options for that.

You'll have a very successful career either way (barring the occasional pandemic...). First and foremost if only one of those has a domicile where you actually live or want to live (SEA, SFO, LAX,, etc,) go there. If you live where you're going to have to commute for either one then it gets more tricky. If widebody flying is your thing, go to United. Way more opportunities there, maybe even as a new hire based on how their previous bids have gone. Generally Delta has been more profitable which shows up on profit sharing day each year (pandemic excluded). Looks like Delta is still on track to continuing to be the most profitable airline over the next few years. Up until about 3 years ago I'd say Delta had a better pilot/management relationship, but the company has really turned the screws trying to squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of the pilots. Domestically our trips are looking a lot more like regional airline trips used to look. Not sure how things are trending in that department over at United. As it stands now I'd say that it's pretty much a wash between the two until you figure in the WB opportunities at United, which would put them ahead. However, their global WB reserve rules are pretty crappy hence why those positions have gone unfilled recently.

The last X factor is the next contract that each airline signs. Who will be best able to fix their most glaring issues? No one can predict how that will turn out, so again I jump back to my first point which is domicile location vs where you want to live, because over the course of the 20-30 years you'll spend at either place, contracts, rules, good things, bad things, etc will all come and go, but your commute to work will stick with you the entire time.

Crapshoot either way. Both are great jobs, go to the one with the easiest commute. After that, go to the earlier class date.

You are on the right track with geography being a primary factor but you have to be more specific. NW - Delta for the SEA base. Bay area - UAL for the SFO base. SOCAL - could go either way. In any case until you have two CJOs I wouldn't worry about it - in any case its a good position to be in. Commuting can be done, I do it currently and its not too bad. Living in base does open up a lot more opportunities and generally improves QOL. B]

Good Luck!

Scoop

To add to this, UAL offers DEN, DL offers SLC. Both are short and long term considerations. Many pilots who move to or near a base still sometimes commute to other bases for periods of time. Contrary to the hyperbole, commuting isn't the all or nothing model the forums imply. Some commutes are way better than others and in some cases can be better overall than *some* "local" situations with massive drives to crappy early AM report/late release trips.

"West Coast" could mean a vast area beyond just the few city domiciles in question so its hard to give an answer even based just on that.

It seems like you will have a great choice either way though.

So after digging through the forums here I’m a little confused at the upgrade time at Delta?

I’m assuming bc Delta has so many aircraft it varies from aircraft to aircraft. I live in Atlanta, so I’m guessing to stay here I’d bid on a 717. I hit “upgrade” in the search and read through several threads, but I apologize if I missed it somewhere.

You are correct that upgrades vary significantly across fleets. Some NB Captains can't even WB FO.

Popular forum answer - 1 Year, because it happened one time for one upgrade. Pilots act like Upgrade Time is the same as Junior Pilot in a category. While technically correct on a unitary basis, it is not a reflection of a typical pilot's experience.

Captain upgrades at Delta are like a mission to Mars. With perfect alignment of the planets, it can be done in a year. If you are caught in a misalignment of the sun, moon and stars, you may be waiting several years. When the perfect opportunity presents itself and you miss by one, you may be stuck waiting a couple years for your next chance.

What you can expect if you commit to ATL NB is a few years til upgrade. NYC could happen a year or two sooner. DYODD, YMMV, see Sun, Moon and Stars alignment disclaimer above.

I'm one of those guys right on the planets aligned point.

2 years on property bid and awarded NYC 73N Captain. Would have been the 3rd or 4th most junior Captain at Delta and only one below me on the 737. The few junior to me were in my new hire class. Bid cancelled. Una, furlough letters, etc.

Return from UNA went back to 7ER FO.

Bid this fall, couldn't hold NYC 73NA but was awarded 320A. 5 or so below me on that.

Junior Captain is maybe a month (so 2 classes) junior to me on the 220.

Guys hired in March 2018 seem to be on the its just out of reach point.

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Fuel Planning
 

Curious across fleets what are the "I want to be on the ground with x,xxx lbs of fuel" numbers?

220
717
320/321
73N
757
767
330
765
350

Bonus: 777 and 747