Really CAL vs DAL

[COpilot]

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!

 

[EMBpilot]

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

Add to that age 65..

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).

Congratulations and good luck with your decision.

 

[IAHERJ]

How many people do you have forcasted retiring in the next few years? A lot more than we do. So, you could be stuck at the bottom of a wave if hiring stops at CAL. We are hiring only for expansion puposes, so unless there is something huge like another 9-11, then we will continue to hire. Also, your main focus is EWR for any INTL flying (787s will likely be based there, maybe a few super senior ones in IAH), and your upgrades will take place there too. So, if you don't want to commute to EWR or live close to there, you are stuck in IAH, where movement is slower. I have also heard that CAL may double it's presence in CLE in the next year or so. If you like the CLE Browns, then that could be good. Otherwise, unless you grew up there I would not want to go there at all. I have flown in there a couple of times, and the Rock and Roll hall of fame is interesting....

As far as flying half and half of 737-800/900, you could get stuck in a month flying mostly 735 or 733 flights, and that could hurt your pay. Our MD88 rates and 738 rates for the first year are the same, and gives you a better forcast of your pay. Also, not having to pay for your own insurance for the first 6 months helps overall. Our second year pay jumps up, depending on your plane. The 737-800 goes to $75 an hour, which is pretty good, and the 757/767 is even higher.

Regardless, this is a good postion to be in for anyone looking at a couple potential airline jobs. When looking for differences in jobs, it can get emotional. This is a big decision for anyone.


Bye Bye--General Lee

This is what I was talking about in my first post. It has become a "mine is better than yours" which is actually kind of good for you to read. You will notice that I refrained from statements like "there are lots of rumors of things to come, and they will be decided by our board members at upcomming meetings". Guess what, every airline operating today has rumors of things to come and the board members will be deciding on things at every airline from AA to Mesa in upcomming months. Don't ever base your decision on what might happen drastically at an airline. None of us would be here if we did that because all of the majors might just go the way of CH.7 someday. Who knows, but that is also a "thing to come". Things that will always change are pilot contracts and the financial position of your company. Be prepared to enjoy the good times and endure the bad times wherever you end up.
That being said, I think Delta is headed in the right direction. If I was in your position and lived in one of their hubs or had an easy commute to one, the answer might be easy given what I know right now at this very moment in time. If you are flexible and want the chance to upgrade quickly and or fly around the world in widebody aircraft early in your career and don't mind commuting to EWR or living there; another choice might be easy. With CAL, you have to hold on to the hope that the contract gets better in 08. If it does, and most pilots retire when they claim they will; CAL will be hard to beat. BTW, IAH is not going to be as senior as GL states in upcomming years. The 737CA positions there are already going more junior than ever before and will probably be available in the 4-5 year mark in upcomming years. Again, not trying to argue against Delta, just trying to defend my airline a bit.

IAHERJ

 

[FDJ2]

That's awesome. I've been at CAL for a year and enjoy it. Why don't you go to DAL on June 4, see what you think, and jump ship in October for CAL if you're not happy?

-minrest

I agree, get a seniority number first and foremost. Get the clock ticking for you. A lot can happen between now and October that can disrupt an airlines hiring, another terrorist event, war, hurricane, price of oil, just about anything.

Start at DAL, see how you like it and keep your options open. If you don't like DAL or think CAL is a better fit for you, go to CAL in October. If CAL stops hiring and you get in a pool, at least your still working and have a seniority number at DAL. If the economy tanks, there's another terrorist event, whatever, you still have a seniority number even if there is a furlough.

Bottom line, you lose nothing by coming to DAL in June and making your final call in October, but you do gain a seniority number with the option to jump over to CAL at a later date if you ultimately decide to go with CAL.

 

[Capt. Caucasian]

So far I am happy here; just trying not to go bankrupt for the 1st year or so.

Good luck with your choice.

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

 

[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.