Lets see:

You are measuring time in months.
We are hiring at capacity exceeding 1000 per year.
New aircraft coming on line every month.

Dude - Please realize that your definition of stagnation is staggeringly different then probably Oh, lets just take a stab here, perhaps 11,000 out of the 12,000 Pilots that have been here longer than 1 year. For many of us a good year was one in which we did not move backwards......................................... ............too much.

Relax and enjoy, because these are the good times!

Scoop

 

I knew I'd get jumped on for posting about "stagnation." Just trying to share my personal experience over the last six months with new hires (on the DAL Poolie Thread) who are trying to pick a plane.

 

BlaneO,

You are not getting "jumped on." What I am saying is that these are boom times. A pause in advancement is no cause for concern. Lets just hope the good times last, because they have a nasty habit of ending abruptly.

If current trends continue within a year all new hires will probably be able to bid any base immediately after the new hire seat lock expires. Those that can "lateral" into a similarly equipped base will probably be able to do so in 6-12 months with the unfortunate exception of maybe CVG.

The west coast is really opening up and the current AE should precipitate huge narrow body FO movement. In the big scheme of things that is about as good as it gets.

Anyway - everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I am just trying to add a little historical perspective.

Scoop

 

I feel for you. That is no way to treat someone whom you consider valuable to the company. You were screwed in bankruptcy too, no doubt about it.

I can't say with certainty that the new Delta has changed. We are now in control of our own retirement plans so bankruptcy can't screw us like it did you. Unfortunately we learned from your experience. Anecdotally, I've been treated as well as I could have hoped. I've had to use bereavement leave twice in the past three months and both times the CPO went above and beyond our contractual guarantees. I've also had a child in that time and they told me I could have off whatever time I needed (one APD did the trick).

My experience is one of 12,000+ so I'm not claiming anything other than it has been a pleasure to work for this company so far. YMMV...

 

With a requirement of "2" I've seen up to 5 guys sitting SC while another 7 were on LC on NYC 717. This month I flew 2 trips, ended up getting 2 x 30 hour rest periods due to 30/168, sat SC 5 times and only had 1 day of LC the entire month. Its like scheduling is getting paid extra to zero out everybody's short call when there is no reason to do so other than they can.

If this is incorrect behavior on scheduling's part, who specifically can we address this with? Please note this is not self-serving since I have a line next month, but it would be nice to fix for the next batch of people on the noob tube.

 

Reserve is reserve, some like it some don't. Your paid for your availability regardless of actual need. As far as a requirement of "2". I think its actually a target of "2" with this disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Note: All Targeted Short Call Start Times and Number of Short Calls are based on known rotation start times and historical data. They are subject to change based on IROPs and Operational needs in the system.

So at this time it appears the schedulers can add SC's at their discretion based on their perceived operational need. This issue was just recently addressed by the company regarding the excessive 747 short calls due to a high sick rate, so who knows maybe the NYC 717 has a high sick rate. At least you did not have to sit reserve for half a decade like many before you.




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I took a quick look at a couple of random days on the 717. Looks like two available is about the average they are using. The number per day is higher because they have to be spaced to provide coverage for the entire day. A pilot starting shortcall at 4am is not much use after about noon.

 

Except there is a reason for the "excess" short calls.

The reason is very simple. They want to discourage commuting to reserve.

Delta flight ops has finally (reluctantly) accepted commuting as a fact of life. It wasn't always so. We didn't used to have call in honest or deviate deadhead positive space or any of that. We couldn't even ride our own jumpseats until 2001 or somewhere thereabouts. Ron Allen fought the jumpseat thing tooth and nail. That's changed now.

But they still want reserves to live in base. They've been burned by some big IROPS in the past. Guys on short call were not the problem. They were there. Its the long calls who are the problem. They couldn't get to work because they lived 1000 miles away and all the flights they usually rely on were cancelled. The only reserves they had were the ones who lived in base. Which in New York is almost nobody.

I think assigning max short calls (especially in certain bases and categories) is company policy. And I don't think its going to change.

 

I'm curious if anyone on this thread can comment on the quality of life on the ER in ATL on reserve? Trying to find out about how much LC vs SC and types of trips (crappy SA redeyes)? Thanks for any info.

 

And that's never going to change for many very obvious reasons. Perhaps they should take that reality into account before deciding on misleading spreadsheets about how much hotel costs they are going to save by cramming 30 pounds of reality into a 3 pound sack.

If you wanna play big in NYC, you have to accept massive percentages of commuters. Short calls aren't always in base either, because they too still have to get to base during IROPS. Maybe they should consider flowing a little more flying through other bases so they have crews there when the inevitable and highly frequent NYC IROP happens.