PlaneS

I asked this question in the DAL thread, and wanted to post it here as well to get a more B6-centered opinion.

For a hypothetical person with a family who has to live in BOS and has two job offers, which would you pick? For the B6 pilots reading this who both live in and are based in BOS, how is your QOL on reserve/holding a line? Can you pick up many extra trips if you want? I personally have no real interest in doing widebody international flying, and it seems like the money is good at B6. Is it easy to hold 190/220/320 BOS out of the gate?

Thanks in advance for your help!

avi8orco

I’d count on being BOS based, likely a choice of equipment, being available to you out of the gate. There’s a number of BOS usually available to new hires every class.

Now if I’d take it over Delta? That’s a question you have to determine for yourself in your situation. It’s not as big a base for Delta as it is for B6 and its bottom junior at B6 so holding it at Blue is basically guaranteed. I have no idea on seniority at Delta.

TheStarMan

It is very easy to hold BOS out of training. If not during training, you can trade there fairly quickly and easily. From an open time perspective, I'd avoid the 220 until they get more aircraft, as the pot is rather limited at the moment and I believe they're overstaffed due to aircraft delivery delays.

However, it's very easy to earn extra and work premium or broken pairings out of BOS on the 320. Flying is a mix of everything, with the SQ flying increasing as well from BOS (Amsterdam, Paris, London).

Trip trading and swapping can be difficult in the busier months, but generally easy to do once you've figured out FLICA and the how the grid works (although needs a lot of change in the JCBA). Average BOS 4 day trip for a junior lineholder is often an island or Florida turn somewhere on day one with an in-base layover, followed by a west coast transcon and then a redeye back on the last day.

I would never advocate commuting over living in base, especially as the NB rates at Delta are only a few more $ than what you'd earn here (profit sharing aside...).

Good luck with your decision.

PlaneS

That’s the whole thing, it *isn’t* a pilot base for Delta, despite there being a very large operation in BOS. There have been rumors for decades of that happening, but you know how that goes.

PlaneS

Very interesting, thank you. Would you happen to know what an average 190/220 trip looks like? Also, does premium pay 200% like green slips at Delta?

Flyby1206

Quality of life at B6 living within 2hrs of BOS is unmatched by any other carrier. That’s a bold statement, but I stand by it. Pay is likely higher at other places, but QOL as a commuter would be worse than in-base BOS B6.

Multiple fleets and a junior base. Upgrade opportunity will come sooner than later.

”Premium” pay typically comes from trips marked PREM by crew scheduling and available to be picked up by lineholders or reserves who are on days off. PREM pays 150%

VDA is another popular way to get extra pay. You add your name to a list for each day off you’re willing to work and crew scheduling works their way from most senior to junior (pilots can be bypassed if they have trip conflicts and/or if it will take them too long to get to the airport). VDA pays 200%

RSA is one more option. Crew scheduling offers extra short call reserve shifts that can be picked up by lineholders or reserves who are on days off. Each RSA shift pays 150% for 4:12 of pay if you don’t get called to fly. If you do fly then you get 175% of whatever the trip value is.

Pilotair

As someone in an extremely similar situation to you who ended up choosing B6, I couldn’t be happier. My QoL is better than I ever expected, I make more $ than ever before in my life, and the future is looking bright. Some things are in need of change (and I’m fighting for them to change) but QoL was my driving decision and I'm happy here. I’ve been here less than two years and already sleep at home every night whilst picking up broken pairings and premium-type (prem, VDA, rsa) on days off. It took me weeks to decide but I figured I’d rather have quality time at home than commute again to another city. Good luck with your choice and feel free to send me a private message if you want to discuss this further.

727_Driver

Driving to work is great but isn't the end all and be all of making a career decision on. Pay Rates are not everything either but are important. You need to compare both CBA, soft time, and OT availability.

Sit down and make a pro and con list for the places you want to work. Discuss it with your significant other and get their input. If they aren't happy with you going to brand X it probably isn't worth going because it will add stress you probably don't want to deal with.

Here are some questions to consider when choosing a carrier.

Which carrier as more OT available?
How is that OT handed out? Pure seniority, or other systems to balance it out more?
Sick leave polices and accrual.
Vacation Policies and accrual
Profit Sharing Formulas
Dependability Polices
Commuter Polices
Min Day Guarantees
How fast you will move a list at Brand X or Y? (Number of retirements and growth)
What are the rigs?
how would the commute if you chose the commuting option?
How many times are you required to ask for wind check and ride report
Upgrade times
Route Structure
Health Care Benefits
Retirement Benefits
etc

Directautogroup

So where are guys living within the 2 hrs? Are most in NH?

usmc-sgt

The large majority live in 2 places… the “95” crowd on the Seacoast of NH and the “93” crowd (Bedford, Amherst, Hollis, Bow.)

The Seacoast is the better drive between those two but costs more with less real estate availability.