Questions Thread for Delta New Hires...

[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.

 

[KarmaPolice]

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.

You're RIGHT! I didn't think about the time change, which goes in my favor being on the West coast. I'm still rolling the dice with delays and cancelations though, and I'll be a tired whiny a** H***, true. Maybe the new Colgan crash rules will stop me from commuting as well.

Thanks!!

2011 first year pay is 58 an hour, which is REALLY good for airlines, so I'm not complaining AT ALL. My rich Uncle helped me save up a decent first year FO fund to make it bearable, so no sweat. I just hope I'm flying with some good people, which I'm sure I am, judging by the company guys in my unit.

 

[rghods]

Hi Everyone,

Any info's about; how long would it take to hold a B757/767 right seat?

Thanks all