TeddyKGB

Yeah, there are a bunch other I could have added like Cargill and Wells Fargo. Huge new Wells Fargo Twin Tower complex being built next door to the new Vikings stadium. Then you have the Mayo and all major sports teams (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA). MSP isn't going anywhere. It's a very profitable O&D mecca and none of the surrounding 5 states have an airline hub so that feeds it even more. Lots of 2014 new hires have gotten MSP based, even on the 7ER. New hires getting on now shouldn't have much problem getting MSP in the future if that is what they desire.

gloopy

DFW was also a large market, lots of business clients and with lots of O&D over all. However they had 2 massive O&D competitors. MSP is a gold mine. The whole "its dark cold and windy but its ours". There is enormous incentive to keep it.

While there is network competition, for O&D DL is the only game in town. While SWA flies there of course, the second biggest airline behind DL is Suncountry. Soon JB will barf a few million seats a year into it to and from 1 to 3 markets, but they won't be given anything unlike the past. DL has planted its flag in MSP and will keep and defend it because it is a great market for what it does. Its likely never going to be a huge widebody hub (unless DL closes an existing one, which also looks doubtful) and they may have to reduce it for cost reasons due to high costs of employing people there, but it will remain a hub and a base for a long time.

JM2C

sailingfun

I don't know about MSP's overall yield. Management has stated in the last 6 months that SEA and ATL are the highest yielding hubs.
I do however know that the number of pilots in MSP increased last year contrary to what has been posted. MSP also has no relationship in any way to CVG. CVG is a ghost town with a handful of mainline departures.
MSP is here to stay. It's not going anywhere.

TeddyKGB

LOL. Easy for you to say. As someone else pointed out, your seniority # is 2XX. You are probably a 777 Captain and only commute once or twice a month on a short hop from FL to ATL. With your 5 weeks of Vac, a few sick calls and your APD, you could fly less trips in a year than a lot of pilots fly in 1-2 months. Clearly someone is a little out of touch with reality

qball

NWA always had a bit of an acrimonious relationship with the state, MAC , and the media. That was also the case when RA was CEO. Having their headquarters there was probably one of the main reasons it had the presence it did and the merger probably relegated MSP to the second tier hub it probably would or should have been all along.

I've been based there my whole career and I doubt it's going anywhere as far as a base is concerned. Seems to be getting very senior on some equipment as many (like me) are unlikely to do a two leg commute, or start commuting just to chase an upgrade. I doubt there will ever be a widebody base in MSP again.

sailingfun

By the way, instead of listening to forum drivel on MSP you can go to the crew resources JAN newsletter and read about the plans for the base from the people who are truly in the know.

Timbo

Do you think I've always been this senior? Pull your head out.

My first base was MIA, and my Guard unit was in New Hampshire. I was a reserve 727 Engineer. Delta didn't allow us to ride on our own jumpseats back then, and we only got one pass, total, for our entire first year. I had to get very creative to be based in MIA for a year, and commute to NH every month, with no Jumpseat, and no passes.

In my 29+ years at Delta, I've been commuting for all but 10 of them, and those 10 years I lived in base were 1986-1996. I was a mid seniority 757 F/O in 1996 when Delta closed BOS, and I've been commuting since then.

Commuting today is SO MUCH EASIER than it was in 1985....I've already forgotten more about commuting than you will ever know.

Banzai

But what would I do without forum drivel to fill the empty parts of my cranium while I think about this? Of course you're correct though. And I'm sorry if I've started a discussion prying into things that aren't for the internet.

Let's all be friends. I've been having a lot of fun, and learning a lot on this thread. Everyone's inputs have been greatly appreciated. Time is, figuratively, screaming towards a major life decision, and I'm just trying to mine every resource for information. This is one, and your comments were very helpful.

Timbo

You're not the first, and you won't be the last, we've all had to make that decision, many of us more than once. That's why I earlier said, live where you want, you can never predict what's going to happen, base wise/fleet wise/merger wise, etc, so pick a place where you and your family will be happiest on your days off.

If there's also a base nearby so you don't have to commute, great, but that could change in an instant. The company has been moving equipment all over the place since the last merger, and they aren't done yet. So you'll probably have to decide again. Move, or commute. If you pick commute, like about 50% of us do, you'll learn how to bid efficiently to minimize the pain.

Commuting sucks, no doubt, but spending all your days off living someplace you really don't want to be, sucks too.

qball

My domicile was MSP and my AR unit was in MSP. Even living in base, with both commitments I was gone away too much. Timbo is right....live where you want to live, and make it work. Something had to give so I gave up the AR early on and life in base was pretty easy. Now that my kids are grown and gone...I chose to commute from the place I really want to be. It creates some limitations, but life is all about choices. This business can change on a whim, bases open, bases close and the most promising looking base can end up a memory. Comes with the territory. If MSP is the choice...pull the trigger and do what you need to do to get there.