PreFlight

Welcome to the Rotate Newsletter. This newsletter provides insight to the aspiring aviator who wishes to join the commercial airline industry. This newsletter provides the reader with the advantages and disadvantages of each airline. The goal is to help the reader determine the best airline suited for the needs of his or her aspirations and family. Today, Rotate will cover Part 1 of Delta Air Lines, Scheduling.

To start, let's talk about the pilot bases at Delta. Delta has seven pilot bases within its network: Atlanta, New York (LGA, JFK, EWR), Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Atlanta is the headquarters, co-located alongside the largest training center at Delta. All new hires come to Atlanta for a two-week indoctrination. After completion of INDOC, pilots attend simulator training. Currently, Delta trains its pilots in Atlanta with some exceptions of Phoenix through a simulator contract (sims, Delta pilots are still the instructors) In 2025, Delta will add a second training center in Salt Lake City.

Delta currently has over 17,000 pilots on property, with the goal of growing by 3-5% every year. From now through 2030, Delta will need to hire at least 1,000 pilots each year to meet that goal. This is coming off two consecutive years of hiring over 2,000 pilots. While Delta has not formally announced the numbers, the airline will still hire more pilots every year through 2030 than in any previous decade. So far, Delta has avoided some of the recent issues with Boeing and Airbus, thus allowing them to continue to hire at a steady pace.

Scheduling

At Delta, the process starts with a system called Preferential Bidding System (PBS). This system allows pilots to make inputs to determine their schedules for the next bidding cycle (the next month’s flying). To enter bids, the window opens on the 4th of every month and closes on the 11th. The company is required by the contract to produce the schedule by the 17th. This schedule is often produced earlier than the no-later date. Line pilots are given rotations for the next bid cycle, and reserve pilots are given blocks of Long Call (LC). After the schedule is published, the pilots may make their first attempt to swap their schedules on the 20th. For line pilots, they can swap rotations (trips) with other pilots, drop rotations (without pay), or pick up unfilled rotations. During this process, reserve pilots can move their off days or drop LC days. This entire process is called a PCS run. The first run begins at 7:00 on the 20th. This is the best opportunity for pilots to change their schedule.

This all sounds great…what’s the catch? Well, there are scheduling factors/rules that determine whether a pilot can move his or her schedule. The biggest factor is reserve coverage. For every day of the bid month, Pilot Scheduling will put out a number of required reserve pilots for each day. If there are more reserves available for that day than required, it is considered a “Blue Day”. There is a formula in the contract for this. Pilot Scheduling isn’t allowed to create these numbers on their own. Each base and each fleet will have different Reserve Coverage numbers. The more Blue Days, the better the staffing at a base. If a category (type and base) has a blue day, line pilots can drop or move rotations. Reserve pilots may move or drop days of LC. If a reserve drops a day of LC, it reduces his or her Reserve Guarantee (hours paid). Just like in everything else, the most senior gets first rights. If reserves aren’t available, there is still a way to move rotations or LC days. To do this, fewer reserves must be available for the day or days that you are attempting to move than the days the pilot is currently scheduled.

Another option to move a trip for a line pilot is called the Swap Board. This lives on the pilot app MiCrew. This contract feature allows pilots to put up rotations they do not desire. Once the rotation is on the board, other line pilots can pick up the trip. Delta also allows line pilots to straight swap with each other. If you have a buddy, you can ask them to take a trip for you without having to go through any process other than utilizing the app.

So far, line pilots sound like the place to be for the most flexibility. In some regards, this is very true. However, reserve life has its place at Delta. In fact, some pilots, junior and senior, prefer it. As a reservist, you live LC period to LC period. In some months (winter), you have a chance of not being used. In the summer, you can expect to fly most LC periods. Either way, a reserve is paid Reserve Guarantee (Issue 3 will cover pay). Unlike a line pilot, a reserve only bids preferred days off. During the PCS runs, a reserve can attempt to move LC days or Yellow Slip (YS) (request a certain trip). During the busy months, reserves typically receive 18 days of LC. This rarely results in 18 days of work. A reserve is scheduled from the most junior available to the most senior. A reserve can submit a YS for a rotation that lies on top of his LC period. As long as no one senior to him or her submits for that same rotation, the trip is awarded accordingly. YSs are only processed 48 hours prior to a rotation. 

Speaking of 48 hours prior, this is when Pilot Scheduling assigns uncovered rotations. This is an important piece of quality of life for the commuters out there. This provides enough notice for a commuter to decide when and how they will arrive at their base. The latest notification crew scheduling can give to a reserve is 18 hours prior to the start of a rotation. While this isn’t as much of an advanced notification, it still provides ample time to commute. Reserve pilots that need more notification can always choose to YS.

A reserve is required to be available for all LC periods or until reaching the credit that equates to Reserve Guarantee. Reaching that credit amount is referred to as “Full”. For reserves, one of the bigger advantages of the contract is the ability to fly on an off day. However, the company cannot voluntell you to fly you into an off day without serious pay incentives. The company does as much as possible to avoid these situations as it cost them more in labor. This results in reserve pilots having more quality of life as their off time is protected unless they alter it. If a reserve attempts to get “full” using off days, the remaining LC periods are not required to be flown. This is extremely beneficial during the holiday periods at the end of bid months, as junior pilots are typically scheduled to fly over holidays.

A reserve pilot can be converted from LC to short call (SC) a maximum of six times in a bid month. A pilot on SC is required to be within the general area of his base and promptly available for contact by Pilot Scheduling. General area typically means available within two hours. SC assignments are typically nine hours in duration. Delta has an airport standby. However, Pilot Scheduling can only assign it to volunteers which receive a soft pay incentive to cover a Standby rotation.

Brake Set

Hopefully, this gives you an insight into the scheduling process at Delta Air Lines. This does not encompass all the rules that reside within the contract and is a basic overview. Delta has some of the best scheduling rules within the industry. Next issue, Rotate will explore the Soft pay policies at Delta.

1  John Collins has over 16 years of professional aviation experience. He currently serves as a Captain for a major airline. Previously, he served in the United States Marine Corps, flying AV-8B Harriers. John holds a Masters in Aeronautics.