No worries. Plenty of guys sit SC in those areas. LAX does not generate a lot of "We need you at the airport ASAP" calls. Yes, it can always happen, but in 15 years of on and off reserve I had 1 call to get to the airport as soon as possible.

It was pretty funny - I was just off probation on the panel and made it in 1+45. The FO shows up at 2+30. At 3+00, the CA calls and says "I am stuck in traffic I will be there in another hour." This was for a DH segment that was held up for us. :eek:

That was the only call for less than 12 hours that I can remember. LAX does not have thunderstorms, snowstorms etc.

Scoop :)

I agree with Scoop for the most part but Scoop is way senior to me. My experience in LA since arriving in 2008 is an average of one "get there ASAP" call per year for my first 4 years while I was a reserve. Three to LAX and one to SNA which is outside 2 hours for me. I made the 3 to LAX and on the way to SNA was turned around because I couldn't make it before quiet hours on a Friday night.

One was to fly the Angels on a charter which was obviously high vis and I broke Mach. Never heard a word from scheduling or the CPO except for "nice try." I told them in advance that it was going to be close and pressed on. There is no hard and fast rule other than what Scambo quoted. LA and NYC are different animals from the other bases. I was just referring to the "jumping thru the ass" factor for you. Whatever you're comfortable with. On probation, I'm not sure I'd push it. YMMV.

Buzzpat, Scambo, Scoop, thanks for all the great responses. Good data points. I recently heard a 2014 NH on the 7ER was able to bid LAX, so I am hoping for the same results in the near future.

With the current movement, hopefully its possible in 9-12 months (after I start class) to bid LAX. If not on the 7ER then I would guess the 737. One of the two unless maybe LAX gets a new category like the 717 or Airbus. I saw an article posted in another thread on some LAX growth.

Any idea where the plug on the 737 compared to the 7ER stands on the list?

I am from CA but I would take a hard look at taxes. The 9.3% rate kicks in at a very low income. Some now believe the rates will have to double to keep the state afloat. The rich all structure their income so it's paid out of state making things worse. The welfare verses working population percentages are horrible. The state is so tax hungry it's driving the corporations to pack up and leave. I have no idea what the solution is but CA seems to think they can tax their way out of it.

This is no joke. CA taxes get you coming and going, on top of an expensive QOL. Just think what that extra 10% in your pay year after year will get you in FL or TX or WA. Boat, retirement, college tuition, etc. There is a high cost for the great weather in CA. What also is strange is despite the high cost, it's still uber crowded, so really not that exclusive. You get the sense that a select few are paying all the bills for the masses in CA.:eek:

Wish that I was on ole rocky top,
Down in the Tennessee hills.
Ain't no smoggy smoke on rocky top,
Ain't no telephone bills (nor state income tax)

And they're thinking about various "exit tax" schemes. Meaning even if you pack up and leave one day, you could still be on the hook big time. And they are always looking closer to the various "out of state address" tricks. Get caught once, instant felony at most monetary amounts. Be very careful following the weather dream; that place is pure tyranny.

Unless most of your income is from investments as most Delta pilots will be in retirement. I believe they do tax investment income.

I don't believe tn has any mechanism to tax individual income.

You're both right.

Hey that gotta support that liberal utopia somehow though...

That's all painfully true...but the chicks are hot.;)

Are you talking about leaving the country of just the state of CA? If it's just an exit tax for CA, that's probably the worst thing I've heard in a while.

CA is probably the worst place in the states for everything but attractive jail bait.

I think what they mean by exit tax is a tax on retirement income earned in the state even if you move out of state later. Legality of such a concept is dubious but CA leaves no stones unturned in the pursuit of taxes.

The whole state of taxation in this country is infuriating and needs an extensive reconstruction from the ground up.

Start by allowing people to starve by their own choice.

That would be 51% of CA residents if so.

Probably true. No gluten in starvation.

Looks like I'll be moving to SEA this fall/winter. Gig Harbor seems to be the most likely candidate unless I come up with a better option. No kids, just me and the ms, trying to stay within a reasonable drive to SEATAC. Any intel and opinions would be appreciated. PM me if you can recommend a realtor.

Delta Bases
 

Any guesses on how long to get to MSP?

MSP 88 (plug) on this last AE was a March, 2014 new-hire, FWIW. YMMV.

Is CVG still considered a Sr base? What are the demographics for the 73N and MD88 in CVG?

TIA,

FAJ

First off, welcome. Are you from the area originally and thus tied into Gig Harbor? It's nice, but also a bit of a pilot ghetto, and you'll have to cross a toll bridge to get to work. Lots of nice stuff out towards Bellevue and Issaquah if you're looking for a bigger place with no tolls to get to the airport, or in the city if you want to have a smaller home with lots of walkability to good pubs, restaurants, and entertainment.

There are a lot of great places to live up here. It really depends on what you like to do, and how far out you are willing to go. There are many, many great places from Gig Harbor to Oak Harbor and Bainbridge Island to Fall City. I know a Realtor(not sure how well she knows Gig Harbor) and a mortgage guy, if you need one, I can recommend.

(If you're senior to me, you reaaalllly won't like it!!!;))

Denny

Thanks, looking forward to getting back west. No kids in the house, just dogs and cats. We do some road biking, a little golf (that's going downhill fast). Just wanted to live close enough to pull reserve if I had to.

I think you're on the Bus, so I won't bother you:cool:

CVG is going more junior however it is a dying base long term. There is a good chance it will not be around at some point in the not to distant future.

CVG is a unique animal. There are currently about 250 pilots here, with roughly 60 pilots in each seat (M88, 737, ca/fo) The captain’s seat and the top 2/3rds of the FO’s seats go very senior for the type aircraft, but the bottom 3rd of the M88 and a few of the 737 seats are pretty junior. In fact, the junior pilot awarded the m88 CVG appears to be a sept ’14 hire. They are generally replacing M88 FO’s as they leave, and guys do seem to be moving out for upgrades, bigger equipment, better seniority, etc. A handful of junior FO’s seem to make this an intermediate stop, on their way out to MSP, or biding time on a seat lock to get to the 73 in DTW.

They have stated that they don’t want to backfill up to 10 73 CA and FO spots going forward. However they continue to backfill on the 73 FO side only as necessary to keep the categories from getting too far out of balance. When 73 captains leave (which is rare,) they are generally not replaced, nor are the corresponding number of FO spots.

Nobody on the left seat has a strong desire to leave – they’re not here because they want to drive big metal, they’re here because they want to drive to work. We don’t have a lot of retirements coming up for CA’s. In fact I only know of one voluntary and one Mandatory retirement in the next year, with no more mandatories scheduled until 2017. That could be a good thing for the base, though – as they have publicly stated they don’t have the sim capacity to deal with the number of training events base closure would cause. Most likely, though, they will let us shrink naturally through attrition until such time as our numbers (or a slowdown in the economy) make us a more manageable closure.

Also, I would advise against bidding into CVG if you plan to commute by air. The hub is very small, with only 1 or 2 flights to many of the remaining destinations. In addition, we do not operate the hub on Saturdays, and some long stretches around holidays (read: we only operate flights to ATL, MSP, NYC, DTW, FL, LAX, SEA, SLC, and sometimes BOS or ORD. It’s not unusual to see a 4 day stretch with no hub around Christmas, and we did not operate the hub from the Saturday before to the Saturday after Labor day.) While there are very few that commute to the base, many commute from (though the vast majority go to DTW, some ATL as well.)

If you live in or near CVG, it’s a great base. You’ll get to know they guys we fly with, there are some unique perks to being based here, we’ve got a good CPO team, and it’s easy to communicate with both them and the alpa folks.

Thanks guys.

FAJ

If you don't mind the heat Las Vegas is an easy commute to SLC or LAX, 5 hours to LA on a weekend if you have friends/relatives there, low property taxes, no income taxes, and housing costs are still pretty low despite a recovery recently that brought houses back up 30-40%. Even with a recovery you're still only looking at $100-125/square foot of house. Not the best schooling if you have kids.

I am considering Vegas, but being dual domiciled (AF Res job and Delta LAX based) is what I am after. No personal income tax in NV is huge, that would save 9% vice living in CA.

The other nice thing I have recently considered about LAX is you have potentially 6-7 places to commute from: LAX, SNA, ONT, SAN, PSP, LGB, maybe BUR? All of which fly either fly to SLC and ATL, so hopefully catching a ride to work in the early stages while waiting for an LAX opening will be tolerable.

Not that I have a dog in the Delta fight yet, but in normal/light traffic, SAN and PSP are a 2hr drive to LAX. BUR, SNA and ONT can be less but if you hit rush hour, forget it. I don't know the public transit too well from most of those to LAX but I know from San Diego it would not be convenient at all, unfortunately. LGB is 20-30min during normal traffic but I've seen it take upwards of 2hrs in traffic. Good luck, I hope this helps somehow!

Spot on. The traffic in the LA/SoCal area is the worst and getting "worster." If you have to manage the 5, the 101 or the 405, its totally a wild card. I'm a DAL guy based in LA and live 45 miles northwest. I have to navigate the 101 and the 405.

Getting to LAX is a hassle, covering the other airports is a complete crap shoot. If I have an early sign in at SNA or ONT, I drive down the night before and get a hotel. There really isn't much public transport unfortunately. It largely serves downtown LA and the Inland Empire (otherwise known as San Bernadino).

If you choose to move to SoCal, know that guys commuting from LAS, SMF and SLC can oftentimes beat me to sign in from their homes and mine. Same on the way home after a trip. Friday nights? Forget it, its a slog. Rush hour? 5-10 mph most of the way.

LA's a great base and I love the guys I fly with. We're here because my wife is a Cali girl, our kids love the outdoor stuff and the beaches, and I'm gone most of the time. :0

Delta Bases
 

So I know NYC cover all three, but are there any trips that start out of Newark and what aircraft would have the best chance of doing that? Also, is it true that short call reserve you only have to be within a couple hours of any one of the three. Basically trying to figure if living in eastern PA is doable for QOL.

Out of curiosity, how junior is DTW? I know it's been typically junior, but is it new hire junior? Is the a320 and 737 junior out of DTW? How about Slc 320 and 737?

If you can make sign-in in EWR in 2 hours you're legal. When I was on reserve I usually camped out at a mall/Strarbucks/Panera in northern NJ for short-call. Now that it's 14 hours (?) it's tolerable.

A guy I commute with (Compass flow) with roughly APR hire date, held back and had summer training is DTW73B. Not sure on the Airbus.

What's 14 hours?

From blowing SC to the CPO.....

Sorry. A SC period is now 12 hours. There have been so many changes.

Question about reserve in NYC. I live in south Jersey and Newark is the closest to where I live. When on short call, do I need to be within 2 hours of all NYC airports or just one?


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