I think the last update from Crew Resources said the first base for the C Series would be SEA..should go pretty junior for those that want to live in the PNW. CG

Yeah I've heard SEA with LAX as a less likely contender as well as NYC and ATL of course. I've also heard that LAX 717 may at least shrink some.

I think the 717 is gonna be pretty fluid over the next few years covering DCI as they draw down..once the C-series comes on line..who knows! Respectfully, CG

Current upgrade to Captain is 4 months.

Weird because I got it a month out of training on the 737 and the ae occurred during indoc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was hired in jun of 2015. Our drop had 7er to LAX. It that was unusual. Several of my indoc mates got lax within 3-6 months on the 73n.

Most junior right now is about 400 numbers from the company plug.

Is Delta accepting applications from Comair Pilots??

That was weak and unreadable; say intentions.

Does the 777 fly through other bases or just hit the same 5 or 6 spots out of Lax?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Can somebody give me some updated info on DAL bases? What equipment is at each base, seniority for each base and aircraft? Thanks.

Delta bases
 

ATL - New hires are getting domestic narrowbody in ATL. Biggest crew base.
777, 330, 765, 7ER, 737, 320, M88, 717

DTW - junior FO is on the 717, followed closely by the 320 and 737, all hired since summer 2016.
747, 777, 330, 7ER, 737, 320, 717

MSP - junior FO hired Feb 2016. May be some more junior guys in training. MSP is a relatively senior base with lots of former NWA, but retirements loom.
7ER, 737, 320, M88

NYC - new hires getting NYC, including the 7ER (757/767 domestic and int'l). Second biggest crew base.
330, 765, 7ER, 737, 320, M88 (NYC M88 base is closing), 717

SLC - junior FO hired Aug 2016 on the 320.
7ER, 73N, 320

LAX - junior FO hired Sep 2016. Bombardier C-series coming here first summer 2018.
777, 7ER, 737, 717.

SEA - junior FO hired May 2016.
330, 7ER, 737

CVG - junior FO hired Sep 2014. Very small base, only 75-80 FOs total.
737, M88

So new hires get to choose between ATL and NYC? What equipment are the new hires getting put on in ATL? Thanks.

Edit: I see you put new hires get domestic narrow body. Disregard earlier question, any idea how long wait time is for wide body ATL?

If you look at the recent drop lists, there seems to be some W/B action.

Depends on if you consider 757-767 flying to Domestic/Europe/Africa as W/B flying.....

If so, you can get that sometimes in indoc or on the first Advance entitlement.....

If you only consider 777/A330 as W/B flying then it will be a while.

2 years for the 330.

Seat lock
 

My understanding is there is a 2 yr seat lock for new hires. So if I get an MD88 out of training, I could not get to SLC for two years correct?

Incorrect. If after 12 months you win a bid for a different aircraft AND different base, then the lock goes away.

BOTH of the above mentioned items have to come true (aircraft change and base change)

For all other situations, except upgrading to Captain, if you start training after MAY 20, 2017 you are locked for 2 years.
Clear as mud?

Partly true. You can get released from you seat lock if the aircraft you are seat locked on is not in the base you are trying to get. Ie 88 isn't in SLC so a new hire could get released from the seat lock after 12 months but I think the remainder of the 2 years would be tacked onto a new seat lock for a potential 3 years on the new equipment.

Also if a new category opens you can be released from a seat lock.

You can also move base to base at will with no lock if you remain on the same equipment. You can break any seat lock to go to a new equipment posting at a base also on different equipment.

During interview do they ask what plane the pilot would like?
What are the chances of getting the MD88 ATL right off the bat?

You'd have a better chance of playing pick-up stix with your buttcheeks than your chances of getting an ATL M88 as a new hire.....😁

Just kidding, just kidding....in the words of the Magic 8 Ball, "Outlook good." There were 340 unfilled ATL M88 vacancies after the big bid last month so it would seem that a good portion of the drop for each upcoming new hire class will be ATL M88s for a while. You might want to look at the DAL Class Drops thread under "Delta" on this forum to get a better idea of how many and how junior they go each class.

Been on the 75/76 since new hire (just over 2 years ago). Most of my rotations have been int'l with a smidge on the 75 when I've been on reserve for domestic and a bit of int'l with it. All depends on the base you're at. Started in NYC...hardly any reserve time and managed to fly about a 80/20 int'l/domestic schedule out there. Now in SEA and almost all 76 int'l flying, even with 1/4 of my time out here being on reserve. Other ER bases can vary widely on the types of flying they're doing. If you're going to indoc, choose if you want an aircraft or a base. Things are moving so quickly right now that you have a good chance of getting one or the other quickly. Just make sure a new hire seat lock doesn't prevent you from getting one or the other in the short term. Have fun! It's really good times right now. Hope that helps.

Aircraft are assigned when you start indoc. Not at the interview.

Your chances of getting ATLM88 are very high now that they are closing CVG and NYC M88 bases.
Plenty of vacant slots for that seat.

#1. No.

#2. Nearly guaranteed.

I hear the 717 is domiciled out of EWR. Are there other aircraft as well? EWR is a better commute for me as I live near there and hope to be flying with DAL soon. Thx.

The 717 along with the 320, 737, 7er, and 330 are currently domiciled out of NYC which covers EWR, LGA, and JFK.

I am looking for aircraft that have flights that start and stop at EWR only. Am wondering what aircraft I could select to ensure I fly out of EWR due to its proximity to my house. Thx.

Don't think there is a fleet that flies out of EWR and not LGA and JFK. And even if the was now, it would likely change a few months later as marketing switches flying between fleets.

The mix of aircraft flying a market or city pair changes constantly based on time of year and marketing whims. Having said that the 717 is probably your best bet.

And, as soon as you bid onto the B717, network decides another fleet is best suited for the EWR market.

Isn't there an airline based out of Chicago that has a small EWR operation in Terminals A and C that tends to go junior? Perhaps that is a better option? 😁

I think you need to be at United then.

And if United hired me now, I might start training in Jan 2019, if I'm lucky. No thanks.

Are there any larger aircraft flying out of EWR now? I hear the 320 fleet is expanding rapidly. Do you see it as a future option at EWR?

I can get to LGA & JFK from my house, just don't want to deal with the traffic if there are options at EWR; copy all on "things change."

The 717, 320 and 737 (not sure on the 7er) are currently originating rotations out of EWR. Both the 737 and 320 fleets have future aircraft deliveries scheduled with the airbus having the most by far.

One other point is the amount of originating trips out of EWR is very limited compared to the other 2 NYC airports.

Bottom line:

If you want EWR bid UAL.
If you're at DAL and want EWR bid NYC717. The other fleets may occasionally have EWR trips but it's extremely sporadic (as in oftentimes none.)

Any other scenario and you're crossing bridges and paying tolls (just like a lot of DAL pilots who live in PA/NJ are doing.)

It's not so bad: #podcasts.

So you would give up flying the 777, 787, 756 strictly out of EWR because you don't want to wait 6 months in a worse case scenario? :confused: EWR is the second most junior base for UA behind SFO, The career progression to line holder, CA and WB is tremendous. Not to mention the 756 flying in EWR is the best flying at the entire airline and the 737 flying is pretty dang good too. 6 Months seems like a very short wait for all that......

I mean go to whoever hires you first and if DL has already hired you then you should go there for sure. However why not keep applying to UA so you can get the base you truly desire? UA at EWR will always be a base will your fleet at DL always have EWR only departures?

320 has currently no EWR originating rotations, I think for about almost a year.

/agree

Assuming you've got a DAL cjo and not one from UAL just take the DAL job and see how things pan out. If you can then get hired by UAL you can move where EWR can be a more reliable base for you. Or maybe you just look really good in double breasted and will decide to stay here.

No matter which AC you get, marketing runs the show with total and complete impunity. They will dump tons of EWR trips into a category for one month or a few years with no ability to predict, then pull them way down or eliminate them altogether. Even when an AC has EWR trips, there is a built in contingent of pilots there already who prefer EWR trips, so while most NYC pilots don't prefer them, you have built in competition of senior pilots for the few that are there.

Right now, and its been that way for a while, the 717 is the king of EWR for DL. Too lazy to spreadsheet it, but IIRC anywhere from 25-33% of its trips have been EWR most months. However its not a big category, and again you will be competing with lots of west NYC locals but should be able to get EWR trips some of the time or some months even all of the month.

For now.

We have another AC on the way and its similar size as the 717 and will be based somewhere in NYC. We won't really know how it will be deployed there until a few years after its initially deployed there.

Also consider that EWR717 may not be the QOL you're looking for. When you're brand new and on the bottom anyway, one or two EWR trips may be a huge perk. But NYC717 trips are some of the worst in the system. One month they bragged about reaching 25% commutability in the trip mix. That means they all start early and finish late, work you hard and you'll get fewer days off.

As we get more 330's you'll likely notice in a year or two that getting to JFK for longer, easier trips and late reports/earlier releases may eclipse the EWR/JFK drive differential by a wide margin.

Or even when you're in a category where you could get EWR trips, if there are better trips out of JFK/LGA you may find yourself bidding those if they are much better trips, which sometimes they are.

Monthly schedules out of JFK/LGA that would give you 2,3 or 4 extra days off compared to a redlined early report late release EWR schedule means 24, 36 or 48 additional days off per year.

Best advice is to just accept the reality that EWR is a small micro climate at DL and even when you get to where you can sharpshoot only those pairings, you may not value it as highly as you do when you're new and everything else is equal anyway, and network can (and likely will) easily shift them away any given month anyway, sometimes for a while.

Is that drive differential worth walking away from 1000 pilots junior to you to start over at UAL? IMO not even remotely close, but YMMV.