Delta Propel Pilot Career Path

[thevideographer]

Yeah, it sounds like regional guys wanting to pull up the ladder on guys who don’t even have more than a private.

I don't see how it's "pulling the ladder up". Nobody is suggesting anything that would lead to a worse situation for the private pilots just starting off. It's just that nobody wants to see that private pilot get a CJO at mainline before them with zero 121 experience.

Yes I know they still have to go to a regional. I know. But the way Delta is selling this, it's a fast track program where you have a CJO in your pocket and in 42 months you go to mainline. Would you rather spend years at a regional and just never get a call and wonder why, or would you rather know you have a job in the future if you just check off the requirements? For Delta it makes perfect sense because they can attract people to flight instructing and keep staffing their regional. Why would they do anything else. But you can't expect to not have any pushback from the people who didn't get that deal.

 

[JDean3204]

I think it’s a great start to a new way of getting well rounded candidates in the pipeline. Now, will current Delta employees get any financial assistance while going through these 70-80k programs? If they aren’t, there really isn’t much of a leg up and they are kind of putting their eggs into one basket. Granted Delta seems like a great basket at the moment.

It would be great to see a competitive selection process that young people will hear about and strive to be selected. Then once selected they will qualify for scholarships and financial assistance to help them along the way. Maybe start it out internal with the brightest and best employees within Delta, then spread to the collegiate level where students will benefit greatly from a good education and flight training at little cost. That will attract a heap of great future aviators.

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

Your argument might not be so laughable if those “Spokane Indians” weren’t already flying Delta passengers in airplanes painted in Delta colors on tickets with the DL code.

It's a business, not charity.

That analogy only works if the Spokane Indians got a written guarantee from their MLB affiliated team? Did they? Probably not.

Renters Warehouse, awful company. You should never use btw.

 

[Adler]

Oh the “I already fly airplanes with an airlines name + Con/xpres/agle on the side, where’s my job?” argument. Yay.

I flew with plenty who had that viewpoint, who ironically enough are still there. You can laugh at the argument all you want but at the end of the day, one can choose to make decisions to try to change their situation, or decide to maintain the status quo. But one carrier has made it clear how they feel about flows from regional carriers, and for that to change...

Ehhhh, some people have done everything it takes to make it, and eventually got a CJO, only to find out weeks afterwards that their personality supposedly didn't fit with an airline's profile, so the CJO was revoked, and they are now banned from ever even applying again; and so they are stuck flying an airplane with an airline's name +Con/xpres/agle on the side for an eternity.

Now they captain those ships, mentoring pilots already with a class date, providing good customer service, for what....

 

[derg]

Anyone that is currently at a regional or starting soon could be there faster than this program. This doesn’t harm you at all unless you let it.

It serves as an additional path, not a replacement for the traditional paths like civilian and military aviation.

It has zero impact on those in the present application pool or those unassociated with the Propel program that are taking the traditional military or civilian paths.

 

[broncoav8r]

That's why people get edgy when the major they've always wanted to work for introduces a new program that fast-tracks college students and seems to leave them out. The details aren't out yet but that is how Delta itself is selling the Propel program.

Fast track is a little extreme given the current hiring conditions. 5 years ago? Sure.

Remember, for you to have the career progression you expect when you get to that dream job, people still need to be hired after you. But look at anyone who is hired at a regional now. Are they going to be spending 10-12 years doing the CRJ-Shuffle? Extremely unlikely. Propel is all about ensuring that supply years down the road when the current supply starts to thin out. It’s about ensuring you have somebody to sit in the right seat when you want to upgrade.

Yes, there is a pilot shortage. No, it hasn’t reached the majors yet. But unlike the regionals, when they see it coming, they actually can try to do something about it.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath, and realize that an airline taking an investment in future talent is good for everyone. It means movement and hiring are going to continue. Let’s not get bent out of shape because the latest “thing” doesn’t benefit “me” directly.

 

[Nark]

Everyone needs to take a deep breath, and realize that an airline taking an investment in future talent is good for everyone. It means movement and hiring are going to continue. Let’s not get bent out of shape because the latest “thing” doesn’t benefit “me” directly.

Couldn't have said it better.

 

[phill1174]

Anyone that is currently at a regional or starting soon could be there faster than this program. This doesn’t harm you at all unless you let it.

Well said, the people it will harm are those who sit around b******g and complaining about the hiring process rather than getting in the game playing. Everyone who’s a decent human being and putting forth the effort to get hired shouldn’t be here in 5yrs unless your nose is really dirty. Idk why guys are upset like it’s a flow. The folks who take advantage of the propel program have an opportunity that everyone else at that point in their flying career didn’t have but things change with time. That’s just life.

 

[derg]

Again, zero effect on the applicant pool. What it does hurt are some that were banking on “Well, they gotta hire me one day, scars, bad attitude and all” but that was probably never going to happen anyway.

 

[JDean3204]

Again, zero effect on the applicant pool. What it does hurt are some that were banking on “Well, they gotta hire me one day, scars, bad attitude and all” but that was probably never going to happen anyway.

Bummer.. My thought process has been, they’ll be desperate enough one day to maybe give me a shot. Way to pi$$ on my parade @Derg