slinky

Sound wisdom.

Guard Dude

I saw the discussion on a person getting a NYC88 at indoc and bidding off to another base/aircraft. I did not see it mentioned but the reason that person still has to fly out of NYC on the MD88 for a few months is because your replacement has to be trained. At least that is what I remember the Crew Resources folks telling my indoc class. So if you get an NYC88 at indoc and bid off, you are hoping for a lot of NYC88 assignments in the next class. If the next class has all 76ERs, then you may have to wait a bit. Granted there is a conversion window. So new hire assignments are based on where the need is and AE assignments play into this. There is still plenty of room to bid what you want.

My cheap two cents: I think Delta is gearing up for the additional international routes next summer and do not want to be short on the 76ERs, especially out of NYC. So they are filling those vacancies first. At the same time they are balancing it with keeping the NYC88 filled. I think it is reasonable to see an assignment change in 6 to 8 months out of indoc if you bid something else. For example, a buddy of mine from my indoc class bid off the NYC88 on an AE bid that closed the 4th day of our indoc class. He was awarded the new assignment on a NYC737 before we finished indoc. He should be done with OE on the 73 by the end of December. That timeline is this: Indoc in June, MD88 training in July/Aug, finished OE in Sept, started 737 training in Nov, will finish OE in Dec. This is actually a pretty fast timeline. There were 88 folks in the late summer classes who had 4 to 5 weeks off before starting 88 training.

Of course this gets away from the real point of indoc, it is a blast. When we had the welcome dinner on that second Monday of indoc, I flew my wife to ATL. However, I did not fly her in on Monday. I flew her in on Saturday morning. We went to a Braves game on Sat with a group from indoc and then checked out the ATL nightlife. Sunday we had dinner with a buddy from indoc and his family who lives in ATL. Monday we had an awesome time at the New hire dinner. Regardless your assignment, have a good time in indoc. (disclaimer: just remember, you are still there for Delta training so don't get to wild) And yes, you can fit 14 of your indoc classmates in your Comfort Inn room, standing room only. The little frig will hold about 2 cases of beer.

Final thought: Just keep in mind, it wasn't too long ago that everybody started out as a "plumber" on 727 before they every saw a right seat. My old man just retired from one of the other Legacy carriers. It took him 8 years to get to the Maddog and I got it on my first assignment.

Okay I'll get off the soap box. Welcome aboard to the Hew Hires!!! I think you will enjoy it. I am!

G.Dude

Hornet1

I'm curious how the next couple of months play out for the new hire classes. Sounds like there will be a lot of opportunities. What category will they fill first with the new hires? LAX73N called for 40 F/O's, only 19 moved to it. I know mr. Doyle's letter called for the new categories to be filled by March. Does that mean we are going to see LAX as an option in classes next month?

Razor

What kind of flying is the LAX73N going to be doing? Is it going to be just domestic or will it also do Mexico / Central America?

Hornet1

That's a good question but I would assume a little bit of everything. They obviously are building LAX up a little as they gained more in the bid than they lost with the 765 moving away. Can someone in one of the new hire classes ask the question to someone in the know what they are planning to do in LA and post the answer.

Thanks

HVYinRESERVE

I just bid over to the 73N out of LAX after getting the MD-88 NYC out of training. I called about it to see what they were planning and I was told that it would be going all over the U.S. and Mexico/Central America. Trips would including flying other versions of the 737 and not just the 737-700 (a good thing because the -800 pays more).

Also, I asked how they would fill the positions if they were not filled on the Nov AE. They said that they would put the rest on a Feb 08 AE and/or use new hires to fill the rest. This bodes well for any new hires looking to get to LA in the near future. Best of luck! As a west coast guy, I'm sure happy about the expansion in LA!

Razor

That sounds good. I wonder if the Dec 3rd class is going to be all 7ER as talked about or if it will be a mix now that the latest AE is finished? When Mr B called me with the Dec class offer I asked (after very graciously excepting the offer ) if he knew the aircraft breakdown for the class. He said it hadn't been decided and it may be all 7ER or they may throw a few other aircraft into the mix. We'll find out in a week!

TheNid

Folks,
What class med does DAL require for you to possess when you start indoc trng? How about sim trng and out on the line for new FO's? Thanks.

StripAlert

You'll need a current First Class to get the interview and again to complete training if it's not still current. After that, F/O's in categories requiring a type rated relief pilot (777, 767-400, 767-300ER) will have to keep the First Class current (every 6 months). F/O's in other categories need a First Class every 12 months.

BTW, Delta reimburses you for all your required FAA medical exams once you're hired, so it's really only a time and trouble thing.

Hornet1

It was my impression that they were moving some -800's over to LAX from ATL ASAP and not waiting for the -700's to trickle in. Then when the -700's come on line they would go to back fill the lost hours in ATL. Did you hear something different? I hope I don't have to wait that long to move. Bring on the new hires out west!