Advance entitlement possiblities at Delta

[michael707767]

Very true...there's nothing worse than riding that block/reserve borderline not knowing what your going to get each month.

Hey they way I've always looked at it was I can get a line every now and then, or under your system I could be on reserve 100% of the time. Some may prefer your system, but I would at least like the possibility of getting a line sometimes.

There are other advantages too. A guy who is a junior line holder can bid reserve on purpose if he needs a certain day off, or to get a holiday off. Or if it looks like the reserve coverage may be good one month, you can bid reserve to get some more time at home. Or the reverse. If reserve coverage is going to be bad, you can bid reserve and do the rolling thunder thing with reserve greenslips.

 

[avrodriver]

I agree the one list thing is a better deal although I have no idea how the NW system worked. Could block holders still bid reserve when they wanted to?

I'm really looking forward to flying out of the midwest again. I have family all around there so I'm hoping if I get stranded and can't commute home I can hopefully at least find a flight going to FSD, OMA, DSM, or CID and pop in for a visit! =)

Now the winters are going to be another story.

 

[michael707767]

Hey...easy...I'm a southie! =)

I bailed out from under the Northwest Umbrella after my first 2 years at Mesaba...10 years later I never thought I might be flying out of MSP again.

Random industry.

Yep. I never even applied to NW. Took one look at their bases and said no way. Now I may have to fly out of one when the NW guys start to bail and move to ATL.

Very random industry.

 

[lakemead1]

Didn't think about the multiple airports thing...which airports do you have to cover in LA? I know it can take most of a day to get from LAX to ONT.

I'm LAX based and we have to cover SNA and ONT also. I've never done a trip out of ONT but I have done several out of SNA. It's a $34 shuttle ride down there from LAX. Lately the SNA trips have been really uncomutable, they start with the first departure out in the morning (6:45) and end with the last one in at night from SLC which gets in about 10 pm. So if you commute you have to get a hotel on each end of the trip.

 

[Linedriver]

The first ? is will S.O.C. be done by Jan. 2010. Probably not but soon there after with an A.E. to follow. The -9 base in MEM has shrunk quite a bit. I would guess many live in base but enought don't and will bid out and open up positions. I think that MEM and CVG may be going away down the road. Praying for a DFW base.

I have heard SOC will be in the spring sometime - all rumor though.

I too thought CVG and MEM would go away in the future but I had a trip through MEM the other day and Northwest has that place sowed up. MEM will be a ghost town if we pull out.

Do they plan to reduce the 9's further in MEM?

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

Latest word I got (last week) was we were on schedule for 1 Jan 2010 SOC.

Combined AE will be around march.


Now taking bets on where I get displaced to in the next couple weeks.

 

[nwaf16dude]

I have heard SOC will be in the spring sometime - all rumor though.

I too thought CVG and MEM would go away in the future but I had a trip through MEM the other day and Northwest has that place sowed up. MEM will be a ghost town if we pull out.

Do they plan to reduce the 9's further in MEM?

Reductions are anyone's guess at this point. MEM is the smoothest operation in the NWA system. If managed correctly it could be a great way to relieve congestion in ATL. Hope it stays around as a hub. We currently only have 9's and 320's based there. (plus a lot of RJ's, of course)

 

[NuGuy]

I agree the one list thing is a better deal although I have no idea how the NW system worked. Could block holders still bid reserve when they wanted to?

Heyas,

First, remember that the NWA system was designed around the idea that reserve sucked, no matter the workrules, so providing the MAXIMUM number of blockholders was in everyone's best interest. As a result, the number of reserves at NWA was very low compared to other airlines.

Block/reserve was a BID position as part of the permanent position process. In theory you could bid one or the other every month (as the NWA APA process ran every month), but in practice there had to be a position open, and you were bidding for a position four months out.

To fill in the staffing gaps, there were temporary positions awarded the month prior for next months flying. They could be block to reserve, reserve to block, in base or out of base, but to get one, you had to be in a position of excess (meaning they didn't need to fill your spot with someone else). In any case, people who were awarded temporary positions bid at the bottom AFTER all the permanent position holders. This usually went way senior because the company owed you free hotels and positive space to work, even from home.

But to answer the posters question: No, if you were a blockholder, you couldn't just "bid reserve" in the way he's probably thinking.

The system worked very well. Very senior reserve line holders knew that their days off wouldn't get skunked by the random guy bidding down from block. Very junior blockholders KNEW they would have a line every month, easing concerns about commuting a great deal, and if the flying shifted, they could displace directly from blockholder in one position down to another position where they could hold a block....it eliminated the guesswork.

Sure, it eliminated the flexibility of bidding reserve one month, then a block the next for those guys who "just want to sit around a month", but given the demographic of the NWA group, this wasn't a huge priority. A different group would have different ideas.

Nu

 

[Superpilot92]

Unless there is a lot of movemtent around the combined system I wouldn't count on getting MEM in the near future. The history of the base is like this. When it first opened it was the junior base, however after a few years a lot of folks either moved there or bid it because of the commute. When the downsizing took place several years ago it kicked a lot of folks out except for the senior guys. Hence, it is now more senior than even MSP.

The other hindering factor is that there are not normally positions made available in MEM. Usually it is only 2-3 positions at a time. Not saying that it won't happen, but there are things you can look for to see if a position will come available. I personally know several guys in MEM that really want ATL. In short if they are able to bid ATL with no problem then there will be several positions in MEM available.

If you live in MEM, then the easiest way in is reserve on the bus. VERY junior. Block bus is extremely senior.

This isn't completely accurate, the dc9 isn't that senior. The mist junior delta-N pilot was just in mem as of last month but bid out by choice. A junior pilot can hold any base they want on the dc9. We're short enough in mem that they temp pilots into Memphis monthly. The bus has gotten more senior though over the past couple of months.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

It will be an interesting bid. All is conjure until they post it, but there was a copy of the proposed one floating around the last few weeks. Very interesting stuff on there.