Yikes...........going through the LAX ER bid package. Only one Saipan layover and it conflicts with my carryout trip, and not that many NRT trips total. It's all good, I was going to be a domestic guy in Jan anyway but what is really amazing is the number of trips that go in and out of ATL and operate out east, ie don't see LAX again till the last day of the trip.

For the old heads, do they rotate things between bases? For example, I'm OK with Sink going out to Asia some months if I get to go to Russia. But, the only Europe we have is CDG........no AMS even.

Confused, but that's normal.......

Ferd

Haneda slots awarded, LHR slots awarded, MD90's coming on line, 767's scheduled for disposal coming back to the line, hiring new pilots & flight attendants, just to name a few things that have happened in the last year. :)

Ferd;
The China and Russia flights are base dependent because of the visa requirements. Other than that, they do switch it up a lot.

I was looking though the ATL 7ER bid package and there are a few Asia trips. A couple 11 and 23 days too. Heck there was a 13 day Paris PHL trip too. Lots of 757 time there.

They do mix it up though.

Yeah, Russia was a poor example because of the visa........should have just left it at Europe like I had written to begin with.

I guess mixing it up makes some since. I remember being a DC-9 Bubba in MEM and going up and doing MSP or DTW type patterns in the winter and giving those guys a little sunshine break down south.

I was hoping for an ROR (Palau) but looks like those went to those Pacific trailblazers in MSP:( The LAX Capts I've flown with agree I should have stayed there:D

Ferd

You can always bid back. You have the seniority to do so! :D

Not till spring I won't. Or maybe even dead SUMMER!!:D

Ferd <--------------already spoiled :cool:

Awh come on, Ferd. What's a little winter weather gonna do? You KNOW you miss it. :D

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I think which base gets what flying is driven a lot by theater qualification as well right now. For instance, we have direct flights from DTW to Sao Paulo now, but we have NYC crews doing the trips because DTW guys are not theater qualified for South America (or Africa, which I'm not going to complain about;)). Of course there is no Pacific qualification required, so anyone and everyone on the ER is instantly capable of flying all the pacific stuff. Seems a little one-sided to me, but it's out of my hands, of course.

After having flown in all 4 theaters, South America and Africa do pose challenges that you don't see when flying to Europe and the Pacific. Lack of communications, reliable navaids and alternates, and in SA, critical terrain all make for potentially dangerous situations to the uninitiated or the casual international flier. While the Pacific is new to most Delta South pilots, I liken it to Europe in that the controllers are usually of a higher quality than your average Third World radio operator and the facilities are for the most part modern and well maintained.

I do remember some hairy experiences in Korea with Korean controllers, though. Not to mention the Manila Control person who tried to reroute us over Taiwan.:eek: Also, one caveat, I've never been to some of the island destinations Ferd has been. So if some of those destinations have unique pitfalls, I stand corrected.