I am currently in progress of getting my private pilots and I am 18. I plan to attend Middle Georgia State to go through the Delta propel program, so I’m definitely planning on being at DAL in the future. My question is about living off of base and how bad it really is. I’m sure it heavily depends on how far you are from your base, but I’m just trying to get an idea of if I need to consider the fact that I will potentially have to move to a different state in order to have a half decent lifestyle. I live 45 min away from ATL so having Hartsfield (DAL HQ) so close to me may or may not give me a leg up commuting wise.
Some commutes are better than others but there are no “good” commutes. As you gain seniority things will improve but again it’s never good. ATL is a very senior Delta base but it could be quite a while before you get there. Until you do you’ll need to plan on a crashpad to stay at when you’re on Reserve and often before and after your trips. Commuters lose quite a few days off having to get to their base a day early and not being able to get home when a trip finishes. Holidays and bad weather can turn those single days into 2 or 3 days with full loads and canceled flights. Right now it’s particularly challenging due to quarantine rules and massive reductions in flights. Many pilots commute and at some point make their peace with it but I don’t know a single pilot who recommends it.
Can a pilot is just hired at a regional airline with the bare minimum of 1500 hours live in base? Or are they always commuting until they get more seniority to live in base.
Depends on the airline, depends on the airplane, depends on the base and it depends where you live. I’m from NY and NY bases are junior for most airlines. During my time at a Regional I got EWR right out of training and remained there for 9yrs. Never commuted once.
In Patrick’s case he lives in ATL which is a fairly senior Delta base. In all likelihood he would have to commute for a while.
The quality of one’s commute can depend on a variety of unknowns. Yes, generally the further the commute, the longer it takes, but what if you live somewhere that doesn’t have any direct flights to base? You may be geographically closer to base, but you could possibly have to take two flights to get to base.
No matter what your commute is “supposed” to look like, there is always the possibility of a last minute schedule change or delay. If your trip is supposed to end by 10pm and the last flight home on any airline is 11pm, either a change or delay could cause you to miss your flight home.
Commuting in general adds another layer of complexity to an already unpredictable work environment, which could lead to more stress, fatigue, missed celebrations, etc.
As Adam said, more seniority typically leads to a better quality of life.
Thanks for you guys’ info! One more question, does your base change regularly? Suppose I were to move to Denver Colorado (for example) since I am based there. Would Delta ever say, “alright time to switch things up”, and move me base to say, New York? Thus causing more commuting problems?
Not likely. The company can’t force you to change bases unless the base closes, at which point you would then bid for your next base. The other possibility that comes to mind is bidding for upgrade (or in today’s environment, downgrade). When bidding for captain (or first officer), the aircraft type and base is also part of the bid. Your current base and aircraft type may or may not be an available option.
Didn’t new hires get Atlanta on occassion? I seem to remember that ATL MD80 got dropped from time to time, and there’s even a Delta pilot on social media hired right before COVID who got Atlanta 737 in his new hire class. Relative seniority is a different matter, and the widebodies seem to be very senior, but it seems like one could realistically get a narrowbody in Atlanta relatively quickly.
Well there you go. Right now junior pilots are getting ATL, a few years back they weren’t. 2yrs from now who knows?
Further the airline can most certainly change your base and we’ll probably be seeing alot of that soon. With all the reductions in flying, early retirements and extended leaves being offered the next step will be displacement bids. Just as a pilot can be displaced from their aircraft and their seat, they can be displaced from their base. That’s when you’ll see pilots weighing the inconvenience of commuting vs taking a pay cut by bidding a lower paying airplane or seat.
I would absolutely recommend moving to base, by that I mean anywhere within two hours driving distance. I have commuted from ORF to EWR my entire career, I do not recommend it. Commuting by airplane eats up serious time and will cost you money.
