tennisguru

Most people with 4-5 years here are sitting at better than 40% in most B categories. I've been here 5 and am at 30%. Yes the trips all are pretty equally crappy, but I also haven't worked a Christmas or Thanksgiving since I've been here at Delta, and I get every weekend and major holiday off if I want. Right now in ATL I'd be around 90% on any NB, maybe a little worse on the 7ER. Yes there would be a significant pay bump to upgrade, but I'd have very little control over days off unless I just loved being home every Tuesday and Wednesday. Of course I could have better seniority in DTW or NYC, but then I'm losing even more time at home on a crappy commute and sleeping in hotels/crash pads.

Also most people in my seniority range can really start to play the money-making games like check airman bidding, dropping your schedule and picking up broken trips, sitting on RES not flying much, etc. Good pay for not a whole lot of work, while upgrading would net more pay, but with much, much more work required.

Edit:

I just perused through the ALPA dashboard for kicks. The best seniority I'd hold at 5 years as a CA is 69% SEA 320A. NYC 737 and 220 come in next around 72%, and LAX 320 at 74%. Everything else is 80% and worse. Granted that should continue to improve slowly with each AE, but that's still a big kick in the shorts when it comes to the seniority and QOL hit.

tcco94

If you are junior to 11k come on down to LAX ER!!! Great trips. You won’t see them but you will enjoy flying to MCO and JAX with an occasional HNL!

/sarcasm

myrkridia

Do you reckon the note in the memo about evaluating opening categories outside of the current base footprint is in response to UA opening more pilot bases or is that typical verbiage you'd expect to see in AEs?

Vsop

I read it as purposefully vague. I thought I was a fishing statement teasing those that desperately want more basing options. It can mean any/all of MCO, MIA, AUS, BOS, DFW on any equipment or any other meaning you want assign to it.

Planetrain

It sounded to me they are second guessing whether Boston needs to be opened at all. This is like the 100th time they’ve hinted at a base but aren’t going to do it this time, only the tone this time sounds slightly worse. And yes we haven’t had a new base in 30 years. All they do is close:

CVG, MEM, IAH, MSY, MCO, MIA, PDX, ANC, ORD and… MLU

DWC CAP10 USAF

BOS 787 drought continues

CX500T

I have 5 years on property (just hit year 6 pay) and am 90%ish on 320A in NYC.

I could be a line holder, but basically your thesis is pretty much the truth. There's not much of a schedule/commutable difference from 20-80%

I was 30%ish when I left NYC 7ERB a year ago (Oct 21 bid, converted March) and I was getting 2 non consecutive weeks of vacation in February and March, and was getting coverage awards 2 or 3 weekends a month, plus non commutable garbage if a line, or lots of SC and coverage days RES.

My wife (picture Fran Drescher's angry daughter) basically went "Your scheducle f-ing sucks being relatively senior on the ER. It can't suck that much worse other than you have to cover La Garbage if you go NB Captain"

She was right. My schedule is mostly the same. But I make more just getting reserve guarantee than if I worked the system as much as possible as an ER FO.. Layovers were similar, I miss AUA and SXM.. Other than that, domestic layovers are basically the same.. At 30%, you could semi-reliably yellow slip Europe, but fughettaboutit as a lineholder.

hockeypilot44

You weren’t getting coverage awards at 30 percent. The PWA prohibits it.

CX500T

Not when a lot of the senior guys bid reserve.

Gone Flying

Plenty of Europe in the 30-40% range NYC ER B in January. Summer will probably go even more junior since we will have a lot more than 5 daily Europe departures.