Heyas Westcoste, first of all, apply to both obviously, because one or the other may delay hiring you for whatever reason. It's nice to have options though! I'm retired Air Force just like Buzz & Cricket. I just took a week-long vacation to Paris with my family, getting first class for all of us both ways as a Delta non-rev. It was truly the trip of a lifetime for my wife & kids.

I enjoy flying different airplanes. Training is no fun, usually, but getting to fly different airplanes with unique destinations is interesting. Likewise I really enjoy the people I fly with. Take it for what it's worth, this is a great place to work with many options for basing and equipment.

 

Either choice will be a good one. I'm one of the many Portland area Delta pilots. There are a lot of leftover old guys that flew the MD-11 and L-1011 here, plus some younger skywest and horizon people that have been hired over the last decade. I think either choice is going to be great.

The one piece of advice you probably haven't thought about. SEA 7ER for delta has a lot of trips that either begin, end, or both in PDX. Additionally the 737 has a descent amount of PDX layovers as well. Looking at the lax 717 base, it seems like July has about 25% of the trips with a 30 hour pdx layover! That's going to change of course, but the point is, with such an easy commute to SEA, you're likely to have the seniority at some point to spend nights at home while working. That'll be less likely at alaska.

 

2017 5th year 125.42 + 13.5% DC = 142.35/hr. We do have profit sharing up to 10%(it was 10% last year and 9.4 the year before). So 156.58/hr....

Still behind but the bigger pay raise you get the bigger ours will be on the next contract!!!!

 

You know, I don't feel all that differently than you about aircraft I fly. I plan on flying domestic narrow body for the rest of my career. However, I do like having the option of doing something else in the unlikely event I decide to do so.

That said, here's why the variety has a huge benefit--a lot of guys want it. And bid out of my category. Which means I have much higher seniority in my category than I have seniority with the company. Even though I may never bid a wide body, having them at the company directly improves my quality of life.

 

Before all the mega mergers, I would say Alaska without hesitation. Now? The best way I can think of to say it is..... pilots are leaving Alaska for American. Have any left Delta for American? No. In fact it wouldn't surprise me to see a few junior AMR pilots leave for Delta Is this really a hard decision?

 

I personally know two who have done this...

 

A few have gone the other way too. UAL to US and US to UAL as well. These are usually new guys that live in bases of the other airline.

 

There is a new hire Alaska pilot that left Delta and another that left United for Alaska. There was recently an Alaska pilot that left for UPS and another for United. These are facts but the bottom line is during good hiring times people are going to bounce around to attain their dream job. Nothing conclusive can be gathered by looking at these lateral moves.

To the OP: Congrats on two incredible career opportunities! You are faced with a very difficult decision. Each airline has its positives and negatives and you will see AS and DL pilots here supporting their respective carrier. Choosing between AS and DL is toss up so just follow your heart and enjoy your career!

 

I'm LA-based and live just north towards Ventura/Santa Barbara. I'm on the 73 and love it. I gotta admit though it's not a 75/76.

I wouldn't worry about SEA and DAL. We're pumping some big bucks and flying into there. It's the airline industry, however, so you never know.

Elvis' point about the international travel benefits is an excellent one. It does make a huge difference if you like to travel and/or you're a family guy.

 

Alaska has never declared bankruptcy ...

Also, non-Rev travel worked out (this time) for Elvis, and it is a valid point. But, I can non-rev to Paris on DAL, too ... It's called ID90 or Zed fare, and I will admit I don't know much about it. I do know it allows me to buy space available tickets on Delta (and other airlines) at 90% off (I think). ... Plus, if it is more than you and a wife or maybe one kid travelling, most flights are full most days to most places. Having said all that, my wife joined me for a day in Sitka, and she and my youngest son joined me on a trip to Chicago. Again, I was USAF for 22 years, including 6 in England, so my desires to travel are likely different than yours.

As far as mergers, Alaska has "been merging" with someone for the last 20 years. By that, I mean, rumours have been around forever. The way things are going now, I would say if we merge, it will be because we buy them rather than the opposite.

Finally, NWFlyer's point about spending nights at home while working--all our bases have lots of turn lines and trips. As a new hire, I average about 3-4 days a month doing a turn, where I drive to work in the morning, fly, drive home that night. Priceless!

Again, despite what some on here say, it is not an easy choice. Fyi, so you know my biases, I have plenty of friends at DAL, FedEx, UPS. Etc. Alaska was the only airline I applied to.