I just published an update on what it’s like to be a very junior Captain at my airline on The Pilot Network. Here’s an excerpt. Please click the link at the bottom if you’d like to read the full post!
I wrote last year that I’d just been awarded a seat as the 4th most junior A220 Captain at Delta. Every time I interact with people online, they ask “So, how’s it going?” with a sort of morbid, hesitant, even cringing curiosity. (Don’t feel bad, I’d be asking the same thing in exactly the same way if our roles were reversed!)
Spoiler alert: it’s been fantastic. I enjoy running my own show, I’ve maintained full control over my schedule, and the money…well….you can read the pay charts yourselves.
I finished OE in October and have been flying the line without training wheels for a couple months now. Although I’m planning on doing a 4th Year in Review post after profit sharing drops in February (16.6% baby!), I felt like it’s worth giving a bit of an update now.
For the sake of my own sanity, I’m going to start by addressing some of the points from that original post in roughly the same order. Here were some of the key considerations/expectations:
- Amazing pay increase
- Maintain the ability to make family schedule work
- Probably mediocre schedule and layovers
- Enjoy running my own show
- Challenge myself
- Fly with younger pilots
- Not chasing more “respect”