GodIsGood

What aircraft has the possibility of getting you back to DFW the quickest?

mainlineAF

Ask god. If he doesn’t know it would be the 80 then the 73

Cheddar

SMH.

Anyway...

S80 is the most jr, if you don’t get it in class you can pref bid it and be awarded after your six month initial lock in - but you can be withheld... Or bid the 737 in training, and hope to pref bid into DFW. Either way it’s probably 12 months.


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Slowmover

S80 question: I received a CJO a couple weeks ago and was told to expect to start in April or early May. I'm in my mid-40s so I hope to have some choice at the drop. I'll be a commuter and hope to get based in DFW. My home town has 8 Eagle flights a day to DFW.

Assuming I get a choice, I'm looking for opinions on whether I am better off to try to get the 80 for the first year, or would I be better off taking a 320 or 737 to someplace like LGA? Any concerns with being one of the last guys on the 80? Any concerns with retraining to a second airframe in 2019? I know the commute would be harder if I'm not at DFW but I wonder if that would be offset by not having to transition to another airframe after a year or so (assuming the S80 is retired like I've read).

I appreciate all the insights and am excited to get on at AA!

viper548

Training is pretty low threat here, I wouldn't be worried about 2 training courses in the first year. If you get the -80 and get displaced you'll get your choice of any base/equipment that has at least one person junior to you.

swaayze

Frankly, it’s likely irrelevant unless you get S80 as you will be able to change equipment before you could hold it anyway. And if you do get the 80 you will be displaced (probably out of domicile) with the fall pull down. IF they elect to stay fat on the 80, it may keep you here a year or so before they train you to your displacement.

All that said it shouldn’t be too long in the grand scheme before today's newhires are holding DFW in other equipment - couple of years maybe. The 80 pulldown will keep things difficult for the next 18-24 mos I suspect.

ALF659

If DFW is where you want to be, bid the S80 and hang on there as long as you can. S80 retirements start after the summer with the closure of the STL base first. Those pilots may displace out of S80 STL to S80 DFW which would force the bottom guys at S80 DFW out but they may bid to other bases or aircraft so its hard to predict. Either way you will displace out of DFW by fall 2019 when the S80 goes away completely.

If you bid 737 or A320 initially, you can expect to wait for a while for being based in DFW. 737 FOs getting DFW are waiting 21 months or more right now and A320 is over 26 months at this point to bid to DFW. With all the senior FOs on the S80 getting displaced out of STL and DFW in the next year and a half, you can expect slow movement into DFW for quite some time unless there is a large increase in the flying at DFW.

In addition to all that good news, whenever you get DFW you will be at the bottom of the seniority pile and most likely on short call reserve. If there is any other base with viable commuting options, I would suggest you look at it. CLT is >15 months to hold as a new hire right now, but every other base can be held within a year and most <6 months.

All that said, its a great time to be starting at American and you will see your seniority rise very quickly in the next few years.

Name User

I have a hunch most of the St Louis 80 guys will disperse to other bases and equipment. They don't have much to gain by going to DFW. Most of them can hold CA in LGA or MIA or close to it.

I haven't talked to a single guy who plans to come to DFW but all bets are off.

Also if the company's acquisition of Frontier 319's falls through like I have heard is actually the case they may transfer 80 flying from St Louis to DFW to fill the gap - according to Isom they have no other plan right now and can't fill the lost flying without additional airplanes.

PRS Guitars

The first I heard of this was last weeks crew news...now you’re hearing it’s falling through? What exactly did you hear? Sounded like they’re in the hunt for used 319’s where ever they can find them.

Name User

Well I wrote up a long response but the internet took it away from me...

Short answer is at $1,500/month lease rate vs $150k on the low end for a 319, the S80 runs around $65k a month cheaper on operating costs but as the fleet gets smaller that will increase. Fuel would have to go to $2.50/gal (+/-) to reach parity.

It's a great airplane to use as a reserve fleet because it costs nothing to just park if they don't need it.

I heard about the Frontier planes in early Feb, where have you guys been?!?

I've also heard that they plan on contracting with Delta's sim to do stall training to possibly get around their drop dead date. IMO the company is scrambling to come up with a solution and they are going to pay out the nose for it unfortunately...unlike Delta's cheap $19m C series airplanes...