Airline Pilot Central Forums - Is Delta a Dead end Career?

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- - Is Delta a Dead end Career? (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/delta/94761-delta-dead-end-career.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by badflaps (Post 2118450)

It is called the Mon-roe syndrome.:D

Mon-ROW????as in paddle faster! I hear banjos!!!

Is Southwest a dead end career? Lighten up Francis.

This is the result of technology, and a regional pilot shortage. Delta has to do more narrow body flying across the board, because regionals can't find pilots. Carriers like NAI can exist because a child can fly a 787, and this forces Delta to compete on schedule frequency using midsize planes.

Edit: I just priced out a trip to Europe on NAI and Delta, NAI $448 : DAL $2356

All of the carriers are a crap shoot, TPP will be interesting!:rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefoxsays (Post 2118382)

With the order of more small jets, the A330 to VA scheme, and the only WB growth going to Joint Ventures (see the CEA thread), is Delta going to remain a solid international carrier? Or only a watered down domestic airline which feeds the JV's?

I'm seriously worried.

I'm praying that DAL remains a big boy airline..

Have you considered that allowing JV partners to go head to head with the likes of Emirates, Etihad, and now NAI may be the wave of the future and eventually AMR and UAL wIll follow with the same strategy? Personally I'd rather be with a financially stable domestic focused carrier than a bankrupt international carrier. But to each his own. Beware of career decisions based on a 2016 snapshot.

Dead End, Dream Career, I guess it's a matter of perspective. If you define success as the ability to continually progress to larger aircraft then everywhere is a dead end eventually. If you want to fly super jumbos across many oceans and time zones I think Emirates is always looking for people...

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcal (Post 2118425)

With the exception of a few years in the mid-2000's, DAL was never a HUGE international airline. They had their token Europe and Asia routes but not on the scale of AA/UAL. They only had 74's for a very short time. DAL in my mind has always been a large Southern domestic airline with a few long hauls to the big cities in Europe/Asia. That doesn't seem to be changing.

Delta is still the largest airline in terms of flights across the Atlantic. Block hours to Europe are very close to the peak in the mid 2000's. The sky is not falling.

Of course one could have an outstanding career doing domestic only flying, ie SWA....DAL, UAL, or AAL. However, diversification is the spice of life.

But there are an alarming amount of signs which indicate we better have some rock solid contract language to protect the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molon Labe (Post 2118393)

If you analyse the actions of Delta not the verbiage or rhetoric of Delta management and the former regime at DALPA, which it looks like you have done correctly, I would say you are correct. I was a 747 Captain at NWA for 12 years prior to merging into Delta and managed another 5 years in that capacity at Delta but now am a narrowbody Captain largely because of shrinkage of the fleet of large desirable widebodies. The management claim that "The A350 is the REPLACEMENT for the 747" doesn't wash since the first A350's don't arrive until the LAST and I mean last of the 747's are going away. When the begining of a new series of aircraft don't arrive until the last of it's predecessor are vanishing that is NOT a replacement, that is a business plan change.By the actions and deeds of Delta management it is foreseeable that Delta will evolve into a glorified Southwest Airlines with "gateway tentacles" of minimalist widebody flying into overseas gateway Joint Venture hubs. Lots of virtual airline stuff.

The first 350's arrive next Spring. The 747 fleet will be flying about the same block hours summer of 17 as this summer. There are also 4 more A330 yet to arrive in addition to the 6 we just received.
Overall we will get almost 40 additional wide bodies by 2020.

Subscribed. I'm trying to decide if I'm better off staying at Southwest and driving to work or leaving for Delta and commuting for the next 34 years of my life. Moving to a Delta base is not an option.

How long would it take a new hire today to hold the right seat of a wide body and have weekends/most holidays off at Delta? Widebody pay and days off look nice, but weekends and holidays off are more important to me so I'm curious with the lack of WB growth at Delta how long would it take a new hire to see the right and left seat of a WB with a good schedule?