Really CAL vs DAL

[puddlejumper101]

Whatever you do take the General's advice with a grain of salt...his view of his own company versus everyone elses is ALWAYS highly exxagerated. He is by far the happiest Delta pilot on property...

 

[Andy]

I read on the other forum that:

Delta has 75% of their pilots younger than 50
Continental has 50% of their pilots older than 50

Unless DAL's domiciles are more appealing to you than CAL, I'd end up going with CAL. And yes, I'd go DAL first and then jump when I got a class with CAL.

The upcoming retirements will make a huge difference for you in terms of seniority. If you take a look at what happened at USAirways over the last 15 years, you'll see why retirements are so important (very few retirements).

As far as which airline does better long term, that's a crap shoot. They're both good airlines.

 

[pianoman]

It must be a hard life with eighteen days off flying one leg a day on the 777 . Meanwhile, I feel like I am working harder flying the 717 vs the frickin RJ!

XOXOXO
JT

Yeah but I got a reserve line next month. Just hoping they don't call much.

And it depends on what your definition of a "day" is. Really it's more like one leg every day and a half.

Gotta watch that waistline though. Maybe I should lay off the peach cobblers for a bit.

 

[General Lee]

Whatever you do take the General's advice with a grain of salt...his view of his own company versus everyone elses is ALWAYS highly exxagerated. He is by far the happiest Delta pilot on property...

"Oh you gotta have faith, a faith, a faith, you gotta have faith!"--GM

I am pointing out the obvious. If you want to correct me on something, go ahead. First of all, he should figure out where he wants to live. That will answer a lot. Both DAL and CAL do a lot of the same things, except CAL has very little West Coast presence, unless you call Guam West Coast. (true or false there?) Then he must figure out where this hiring will put him. If CAL continues to hire a lot for a long time, then he is probably in the middle of a good wave (1200 already hired in the last 2 years). At Delta we are just starting, and we hear rumors of a lot coming. Really we have a lot of rumors that are not proven yet because our new board is about to meet for the first time and discuss it. That should happen sometime at the end of this month I believe. He still has time to figure it out, though.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[aroundtheblock]

I'd take the 1st one who offered me a class.

 

[Palomino]

go to DAL. then you can fly with a General. maybe he'll honk his Dixie horn for you.

i think DAL could be a good place again. nice equipment. nice bases. nice choices of flying. they still have work rules and a preserved quality of life despite the bankruptcy ringer.

CAL pilots have given up a lot. might take a while to get it back. it's a decent place but the pilots deserve much more than they are getting.

if you live near any base or would want to then i say go with that one. tough choice to make considering the timeframe.

i'd take either one, but i think DAL has the edge on work rules and quality of life. they can build on that in the future. even DAL PBS seems to work ok for most.

CAL has to start from scratch on the upcoming contract. we have no work rules and a lousy PBS system that applies Microsoft logic to your lifestyle - the results aren't pretty for 3/4 of the pilot group.

CAL is working out for me, but i didn't have a DAL option either. take both and decide on your own.

either way...you need to take your seat before the age 65 deal slams the door on hiring industrywide.

 

[Helos2Galaxy]

My two cents...
Hired/pooled by CAL in 3/99. Eventually offered a class in 11/00.

Meanwhile, hired at DAL in 1/00. Went to DAL and never looked back; though I could've jumped for CAL.

You never know when hiring plans will change. Take the class at Delduh, and if not happy go to CAL.

 

[Captain X]

I'm a pilot at CAL. I will second what a lot of people have said on here. Take the class that comes first. You never know what could happen and CAL could cancel future classes. If you are already in at DAL if CAL did and the same event caused a furlough, at least you have a seniority # and recall rights at DAL.

See how it is at DAL after 5 months if you don't like it you can head over to CAL. I seriously doubt you will jump ship though.
I think either carrier is a good choice.

I had the same "problem" with CAL and SWA. Had an almost immediate class date at CAL, and a potential 6-8 month wait for SWA. Also didn't have the type.

I also second what others said about being on the front of the hiring curve at DAL.

 

[Pocono Pilot]

Go to Delta. It's a no brainer.

Things will probably stagnate at CAL very shortly is the Age 60 rule is changed. The schedules are horrible at CAL. The work rules have been wiped out of the contract as well as any hope of QoL.

CAL pilots will probably also get the short end of the stick when and if there is a merger with UAL.

 

[EMBpilot]

BTW that's great to see people get offers from multiple legacies! Hope to see choices between AA vs DL vs UAL vs CAL vs NWA vs USA soon

 

[imadumbpilot]

My slant on this is;

1.You would be at the begining of the hiring curve at DAL, whereas CAL has been going on 2 years now.

2. The whole commute thing, I've done it for 19 years; wish I hadn't!

I second this. I've been at CAL since '99 and in your shoes, I'd take the first class, and never look back.

but what do I know, imjustadumbpilot

 

[Captain X]

Things will probably stagnate at CAL very shortly is the Age 60 rule is changed.

I (we) knew you'd chime in on this thread.

Why is CAL the only airline that is going to stagnate when age 65 goes into effect?

Are all the other airlines exempt?

CAL pilots will probably also get the short end of the stick when and if there is a merger with UAL.

Just like the smaller AWA got the "short end of the stick" in thier seniority integration with bigger, badder USAirways?

 

[whatitdoing?]

I don't think the age 65 rule will make a huge impact. Most will opt out early or go out on medical leave. There hasn't been one pilot that I've flown with that said he/she wanted to fly past 60. Plus, most airlines will want their pilots to leave early due to higher salaries.....just my opinion.

 

[Full of LUV]

What

I don't think the age 65 rule will make a huge impact. Most will opt out early or go out on medical leave. There hasn't been one pilot that I've flown with that said he/she wanted to fly past 60. Plus, most airlines will want their pilots to leave early due to higher salaries.....just my opinion.

If this is true then why the #$%@#$% did CAL MEC endorse age 65, are yousaying its the junior pilots pushing it?

 

[michael707767]

All comes down to the bases. If I lived in ATL I'd gladly go to Delta, despite 2 year reserve and 12 year upgrade (exaggeration hopefully).

Junior captain in NYC is nine years. Junior captain in ATL is ten.