Questions Thread for Delta New Hires...

[KarmaPolice]

Hi Everyone,

I got hired by Delta, and couldn't be happier or more excited. I'm hoping I can have some questions answered here that my buddies haven't been able to, so that I can make some good decisions as far as basing, etc.

There are six mainline non stops between where I live/where my Air Force unit is, and MSP, which makes it my first choice for basing. A red eye leaves at 1250 and the next flight is a 7 A.M. departure that gets in at 1216 P.M.

1. Is there any way to make this commute work? If I get called in at midnight, I won't be able to make the 12:50 red eye, and the 7 A.M. departure won't get me there on time.

-Is there a way to bid Reserve so that I can avoid the scenario of getting a call at midnight?

2. Is there a rough estimate of how many classes need to go through training behind me before I could theoretically get off reserve in MSP, DTW or JFK?

3. How long before I could be awarded reserve out of SEA, SLC, or LAX?

4. What's a month's pay look like after taxes, ALPA dues, Dental, etc?

5. How will the flow through's seniority affect me? Am I junior to all flow throughs or just those who had a class date before me? Is there a flow back in place?

6. I'm not married, can I designate a girlfriend as my "spouse" for flying privileges?

7. How easy is it to jumpseat on other carriers for commuting purposes?

8. What's something you wish you would've known your first year that you learned later?

Any other Delta new hires out there, feel free to post your questions here as well. A lot of info out there is outdated since the merger.

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to flying with you!

Cheers :beer:

 

[tweetfaip]

Congrats on getting hired! I'll answer what I can.

1. No, you won't be able to do that. If you are on short call you will need to be at your base. The generally accepted time to report is two hours (though that is not written). You can commute during the first two hours of your short call period.

2. Can't really say. It depends to a large extent on what airframe you are on.

3. SEA and LAX are fairly senior, but again depends on airframe.

4-6. Don't know

7. Jumpseating on other carriers is no problem (from what I have heard, I don't commute).

8. It's been a number of years, but I thought the training was pretty good. Do not sweat the ground training part too much, the instructors are good and mean well, but the non-pilot instructors have a different sight picture about what is important than the sim dudes. If you are on the 88, it's all about the flows.

Good luck,

Eric

 

[KarmaPolice]

Sorry, let me clarify....

I was talking about commuting on "long call" days, which I had heard were 12 hour call outs? I get that on short call days you have to be there in 2 hours, of which there are six per month.

Which brings up another question for anyone who knows, how are the short call days assigned?

As for time to get off Reserve, I'm asking about how many people need to be hired after me in order to get a line on the MD88 in MSP, DTW or JFK (which I'm assuming will be the most junior/easiest commute). Ballpark obviously...

Thanks.

 

[MasterOfPuppets]

Welcome,

Most times you should be able to stay home on long call. It will be close.

You can put your girlfriend or boyfriend or anyone on pass privileges.

No idea about how long reserve will last, depends how much they keep hiring and what plane you get.

First year is like any year. They're not trying to wash anyone out.

Maybe around 3k take home at guarantee depending on withholdings.

Have fun.

 

[regionalcap]

I would not sit that far away while you are on probation. You always want to be able to make it in the 12 hour window. Don't forget to factor in weather for planning purposes. After you get off probation, then it is up to you on how much you feel like gambling to make it on time.

 

[Gorditas]

To fill in a few of the blanks:

Long call and short call seem to be assigned at random, but at least on my A/C there is a slight trend to having it your first day of call. ALPA is supposed to be working on possibly making this something to bid on (long call or specific short call times) like we had at Northwest. Thankfully, I quit commuting before we were under the DAL reserve rules. Many of the people I know who commute long distances on reserve ask for all of their short call days in a row once they get to base, as they are indeed limited to 6 days in a month.

I would second the suggestion to not try this commute during your probationary year. Do you own a home in your current location? You said you aren't married. Unless their is some other really compelling reason to commute, life is much easier if you live in base, especially on reserve. This is a personal decision that can become a personal problem. If you have a choice, I would suggest commuting to your part time gig, not the full time one. I think you would save a lot of money as well.

As for the flowthrough's, they get a number when they are "called up" from what I understand. I think that there is a type of "stop loss" in place to keep Compass from losing too many people all at once. If this is used, I think they get a number in the class they should have been in. However, you aren't going to have all 4xx people who are part of the flow in front of you. (This is my understanding of it anyway.)

Welcome aboard, it's a great job and I think we have as bright a future as anyone can have in this business. PM with further questions if you like.

 

[GogglesPisano]

Welcome to the best job in aviation.

 

[another cfii]

Sorry, let me clarify....

I was talking about commuting on "long call" days, which I had heard were 12 hour call outs? I get that on short call days you have to be there in 2 hours, of which there are six per month.

Which brings up another question for anyone who knows, how are the short call days assigned?

As for time to get off Reserve, I'm asking about how many people need to be hired after me in order to get a line on the MD88 in MSP, DTW or JFK (which I'm assuming will be the most junior/easiest commute). Ballpark obviously...

Thanks.

First of all, Congrads. You'll find lots of AF bubbas here at DL, so you'll have plenty of chances to make new friends, and meet old friends.

As someone who's based MSPM88, i can tell you what I've experienced since this category opened in April this year. It is a growing category, and word on the street is we're trying to acquire every MD90 out there in the market, including those with different config (full glass cockpit). If that's the case, there should be plenty of newhires behind you to push you up the category list.

For the past 5 months or so, it grew from about 10 people to 120 to this month. The number of lines however, hasn't grown as proportional to other new categories that we've had in recent years. Our usual reserve % is around 18-25%, depending on the season. MSPM88 has been running around 35% reserve. So keep that in mind when you wonder why you're still on reserve. I suspect the number of lines will increase, so be patient. The good side of being fat on reserve is that, you won't sit as many short call as other "leaner" category. This summer, i averaged about 2-3 short calls, and most of the time there was a trip lined up for me before I commuted in. Schedulers are good to work with for the most part, but don't try to test the waters while you're on probation. You'll get short call on your 1st on-call day, and after that, it really depends on reserve coverage to dictate the rest of your work week. If you fly enough during the first 2 weeks of the month, chances are you'll sit couple short calls and be done for the month. Not too bad for getting paid 70 hours to sit home for couple weeks.

All in all, welcome aboard, and excited to see new doe eyed bubbas around campus!

 

[dalad]

I would not sit that far away while you are on probation. You always want to be able to make it in the 12 hour window. Don't forget to factor in weather for planning purposes. After you get off probation, then it is up to you on how much you feel like gambling to make it on time.

I remember telling my new hire flight engineers, "don't worry about probation, you're always on probation". It is real hard to get fired even on probation.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Okay, looks like I need to buy a warm jacket, a few cases of whiskey, and look for a place to live in Minneapolis then.

3K $? I'll need a few cases of Top Ramen also.

This is great info, thanks guys.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Okay, looks like I need to buy a warm jacket, a few cases of whiskey, and look for a place to live in Minneapolis then.

3K $? I'll need a few cases of Top Ramen also.

This is great info, thanks guys.

(edit 1: post deleted since this type always seems to hang themselves without any help)

edit 2: add: Oh, thanks for quoting RegionalCap...nice passive aggressive way to keep it out there to "help" him

 

[regionalcap]

It always amazes me when people post a series of such personally identifiable information, get hired to a job most people would love, then make a series of jabs to such job.

Honestly, given your often crude public posting history, I am surprised not only that Delta would have let you slip by, but also that it seems that they give their new hires guidance on social media and public postings? (Honestly, though, if they didn't it is likely because it should go without saying at a professional level). If you haven't even been to training there yet...I can't imagine the later whinings.

A lot of furloughed guys would love to be in your place and have a world more tact as they go about it. Just a thought (although the horse seems to already been long out of the barn).

Wow..pull the corn cob out...

 

[SpaceBall 1]

First of all and truly, congratulations on the job. :beer:

But honestly, $3,000/month take home = the best job in aviation?!? WTF?!?! uke::uzi: :angryfire

 

[KarmaPolice]

No jabs at the job! I'm stoked to be living off whiskey and Top Ramen and trying to not get frost bitten in Minny! It's going to be fun!

 

[masedogg19]

How many ex-wives and illegitimate children do you have that forces you to only eat Top Ramen on $3K per month?

 

[GogglesPisano]

First of all and truly, congratulations on the job. :beer:

But honestly, $3,000/month take home = the best job in aviation?!? WTF?!?! uke::uzi: :angryfire

I forgot. One must only look at first year pay in this career and ignore the other 25-30. My apologies to your shortsightedness.

 

[KarmaPolice]

How many ex-wives and illegitimate children do you have that forces you to only eat Top Ramen on $3K per month?

None of the above, yet.

I don't drink cheap whiskey! Priorities!

 

[wings421]

Hi Everyone,

I got hired by Delta, and couldn't be happier or more excited. I'm hoping I can have some questions answered here that my buddies haven't been able to, so that I can make some good decisions as far as basing, etc.

CONGRATS!

There are six mainline non stops between where I live/where my Air Force unit is, and MSP, which makes it my first choice for basing. A red eye leaves at 1250 and the next flight is a 7 A.M. departure that gets in at 1216 P.M.

1. Is there any way to make this commute work? If I get called in at midnight, I won't be able to make the 12:50 red eye, and the 7 A.M. departure won't get me there on time.

I wouldn't recommend it. My personal limit when bidding a base I might be on reserve at is to be able to drive and still make the trip.

-Is there a way to bid Reserve so that I can avoid the scenario of getting a call at midnight?

No. I have been called at all different times and called at odd hours to start odd short call periods. There is some predictability once you are here a while, but even then there can be wrenches.

2. Is there a rough estimate of how many classes need to go through training behind me before I could theoretically get off reserve in MSP, DTW or JFK?

Good question, tough to answer. I was hired in 08 and I'm still bidding around to find a place where I won't be on reserve.

3. How long before I could be awarded reserve out of SEA, SLC, or LAX?

Hard to tell. I wouldn't plan on it anytime soon to be honest (though it could happen ASAP too).

4. What's a month's pay look like after taxes, ALPA dues, Dental, etc?

Think I remember using about 70% of gross earning my first year. Depends on some of your elections and filing status though.

5. How will the flow through's seniority affect me? Am I junior to all flow throughs or just those who had a class date before me? Is there a flow back in place?

Flow back is in place with Compass. Believe that the guys that have been bypassed have seniority #'s so I guess to answer your question, we'd have to know what class you are in.

6. I'm not married, can I designate a girlfriend as my "spouse" for flying privileges?

Yes but they have to pay a fare similar to a buddy pass until you are married (there might be an exception if you have been living together for ___x amount of time).

7. How easy is it to jumpseat on other carriers for commuting purposes?

Fairly easy.

8. What's something you wish you would've known your first year that you learned later?

I've always known it all!

Any other Delta new hires out there, feel free to post your questions here as well. A lot of info out there is outdated since the merger.

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to flying with you!

Cheers :beer:

See above.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Welcome aboard.

We pay over 50 an hr to our first year guys. I beleive that only FedEx and SWA come close, but that is off the top of my head.

3K a month is take home pay. It goes up from there. The first year pay hurt a lot, but anything worth doing makes a year or two pay cut OK.

MSP is a great city with a lot to do. You will love it. I say rent and see the different cities.

I agree that it is the best to create an environment that is as stress free as possible. If you can avoid a commute, by all means do it.

It is a good job, and most here love what they do, not matter what the career has been though. We have a great group of pilots here.

 

[another cfii]

There are six mainline non stops between where I live/where my Air Force unit is, and MSP, which makes it my first choice for basing. A red eye leaves at 1250 and the next flight is a 7 A.M. departure that gets in at 1216 P.M.

1. Is there any way to make this commute work? If I get called in at midnight, I won't be able to make the 12:50 red eye, and the 7 A.M. departure won't get me there on time.

-Is there a way to bid Reserve so that I can avoid the scenario of getting a call at midnight?

It looks like you live in the pac. west from your profile. If they call you at midnight at home, your show is actually 2pm local time MSP, so technically you still have 2 flights to get you in base.

There's no way to avoid getting a call at midnight, besides turning off your phone

I'm not gonna tell you what you should/should not do on probation, but I can tell you is that if you commute to reserve, you won't be too much fun to hang around. PM me if you need more help.