FLY6584

I'm approaching my second year at Southwest, off reserve, and about to start driving to work. I thoroughly enjoy the schedule flexibility I have here at Southwest. Even as a first year guy I have only worked one weekend since April, have averaged about 12-13 days of work a month, and most of my trips are commutable on both ends even though I'm close to holding a line in a base that I can drive to.

With that said I have an upcoming interview at Delta and curious to know what kind of schedule I can expect my first, second, third, and so on years. Moving to a Delta base is NOT an option and I'm commuting from TPA so I'm wondering how long would it take to achieve a 12-13 day month schedule that is primarily weekdays and has trips that are commutable on both ends? I know I'm asking for a lot, but I'm having a hard time deciding if the improved pay, retirement, and upgrade time at Delta is worth the QOL I would be giving up at Southwest.

At Southwest we have two ways to trade trips. One is a pilot to pilot trade and the other is a pilot to company trade. Between these two tools I have had really good luck these past few months turning an all weekend flying line into an all weekday line while also reducing the number of days I fly. Do you have something similar at Delta and how effective is it?

Thanks in advance!

FLY6584

And if anyone has screenshots of their schedules at different years and aircraft that would be awesome to see as well.

surfnski

Three words: capped reserve days. Or in pilot speak, go f yourself.

Not sure about other folks but I can't drop jack squat. Ever.

hvydvr

This. NB reserve coverage is non existent. You might be lucky to pull off a day for day swap but a drop? Currently impossible in NYC.

FLY6584

Well we don't have the easiest flexibility to drop either, but I have found that if I move trips to the end of the month and bid trips that have trips at the beginning of the next month I can do a pretty good job of dropping a day or two through monthly overlap. On top of that I can usually turn a 3-day into a 2-day or 4-day into a 3-day in the middle of the month. So I think I have averaged about 2 days of dropped flying a month and considering most of our lines are 14-15 days I'm usually able to get to 12-13 days a month.

FLY6584

How many days a month does your typical NB line holder work a month in both ATL and NYC?

Laserowner

I commuted for 20 years, now I drive to work. It's like a different job. Unless you plan on moving to base, I would stick with SWA. Commuting sucks in every sense of the word. With the current hiring rate at Delta, you probably won't have to sit reserve very long. However, the kind of flexibility you're talking about is a very long way off. Changing your schedule after it's awarded is possible, but its a crapshoot. I wouldn't depend on it. Even when you're senior, capped reserve days will often prevent it. (reference previous post).

FLY6584

This was the line I was originally awarded in July...



And this is what I was able to do with my schedule by the end of the month...

TexanDriver

Take upgrade time w/ a grain of salt. All the upgrades have been to NYC, not exactly a garden spot unless you plan on living there.

As far as NB staffing goes, the only way I've been able to drop a trip is with mil leave, so it's not like I'm getting extra days off. I'm just trading one job for another. Sounds like you'll have a better life at SWA unless you plan on moving to a Delta base. The TPA commute as a DAL guy would probably be a pain especially if you're ATL based.

TexanDriver

Swap the days off with work days, and that's a typical NB DAL schedule. 16 days of work.