Crown

and they encouraged employees to dumpster dive for food!

CrazyEight

newcfii

Hey PilotBases question. I'm 3 years new to DAL on the ER. What happens to those of us who decide to ride the bird into the sunset? Option to bid into replacing ac or can we only bid into an ac that our seniority will allow us to hold?
prospect of the 787 would be fantastic but I'm worried the reality for the 75 is the 321 and ER the 339. I can hold NYC 330B at 80% and right now I'm ATL ER at 50%. Just looking for ideas.
Thanks!

PilotJ3

Only what you can hold.

PilotBases

Theyll run displacement bids as necessary when the time comes. I think we are a long way off that though. The ER is seeing a handful of retirements a year, but not enough that captains retiring/bidding other planes and likewise FOs upgrading/bidding out can't handle.

General staffing is 10 pilots per NB, and 30 per WB, so retirements and whatnot can handle it fairly easily. We probably won't see much in the way of ER As getting backfilled on AEs anytime soon, barring whatever is needed if staffing gets lopsided. I don't think you'll be kicked off it anytime soon! Only when a base actually needs to close will you see displacements, I strongly suspect the slow retirements will be handled without it over the next few years.

The 321 is the 75 replacement on many routes. 21 lay flat planes coming to replace the 18 lay flat 757s. Think they mostly do JFK/BOS-SFO/LAX amongst a few others. It's not directly one plane replaces another, there's shifting around between all the narrowbodies. Max10 plays a part, but it needs to show up first.

There's 10 763 older than 31, you'll probably see those fade out over the next two years? Driven by where they are in the Mx cycles. The ER category will still be here into 2030 unless we get Covid-26.

Don't fear the Airbus either. 320->330 is a short course, and they're further streamlining it with the AQP testing. Lots of new things coming like the eQRH integrated into Mission+. If you're already 80% on 330B, it'll only get better with the deliveries still to come. 9 more 339, a decent chunk more 350, and the options (20, currently 10/10 339/359)

newcfii

That's what I thought.. thanks

GogglesPisano

Eggsactly. Everytime RA and EB came to a town hall or an ALPA shin-dig their take on the 777 was the same: "It's not the right fit for Delta, it only works on a few routes." COVID was the excuse to get rid of the airplane they despised.

There is absolutely no way we ever reorder the 777 -- or the 787 for that matter. No way.

Tinpusher007

I wouldn't necessarily say never for the 787. Ed won't order it but he won't be around forever. I think at some point into the future the 787 could turn up at DL. When the classic A330s retire, the 787-10 could make a nice replacement, for example. There is talk of the 797 again; could come as a package deal. But I do agree the 777 won't fly at DL ever again; not with the A350 filling that role.

Gunfighter

* A mandatory displacement doesn't require a vacancy, only that you are senior to someone in the category you bid.

Hotel Kilo

Krikey, Gunfighter beat me too it. Yes, this ^^^^

So , the very junior NB A crowd would probably want the ER fleet to hang on a bit longer. If the retirement pace by chance picks up, there could be displacements. Where those mostly senior ER A's go is a mystery right now. Do they bite the bullet and learn French? Do they slide over to 765? Do they slide into the 73N? Who knows??