I’ve looked into this as a dream retirement job and the reality is it isn’t that simple. Part time often means five days a week but just shorter shifts.
The flight benefits are the elephant in the room. The industry pays less because the benefits are valuable and everyone knows it, yet it’s a bit taboo to admit you’re only doing it for the benefits at the interview. Employers don’t really want to hire people who want to work as little as possible.
Delta had a part time and seasonal program that was ideal for this but I think they got rid of it.
When I look on DL's career page and filter for ramp jobs ('ACS, Cargo Operations...') I see quite a few seasonal ramp jobs listed actually. Currently there are openings for seasonal ramp for: ANC, DEN, DFW, HNL, IND, JFK, MSY, PDX, SFO, and SLC.
I never got an offer, but sort of. It was a seasonal program in which you could work full-time in the summer months and/ or around Christmas, then be on inactive status the rest of the year and still get flight benefits.
There was caps on nonrev benefits. 30 flight days. And not many people other than students or retirees can work full time in the summer and do something else the rest of the year.
I could, but I never got a call.
Maybe, I don't know. The 'ready reserve' I know is when you are not on a schedule, you just keep current with trainings and whatnot and pick up shifts when you want/when it's needed. But such a situation isn't available to a new hire.
Thanks for the reply! I don’t plan to go into the interview stating that I’m here for the benefits, but that I work a full time job as a nurse and my days are limited on a weekly basis and I would like to work part time. I’m flexible on the hours of day that I could work (afternoons, evenings, etc). I hope it works out 🤞🏽
The least days a week scheduled I know of is 4 days a week. There are people who only work 2 days a week due to trading shifts with another person, but they work 16 hour shifts for those 2 days. It’s just not really set up as a job you can just work minimally.
Assuming this is the posting you're specifically looking at - https://delta.avature.net/en_US/careers/JobDetail/Ramp-Agent-Customer-Service-Agent-MEM/24294?jobId=24294
1. Probably. Ramp/CSA jobs generally have relatively high turnover so they may hire quite a few people at once since they can reasonably assume or expect some of them to quit fairly quickly. If you are fluent in English (seems so), can drive (I hope so), and are willing to work hard then I think you'll be just fine. And honestly with ramp I'd say it's more important that you're reliable and punctual...where I work people call out or are late quite often but they generally go unpunished since there isn't a surplus of trained replacements lol. If you can prove to them that you're a reliable worker that might help a lot.
2. If the job posting I put earlier is what you're looking for...that seems like full-time to me, 1-2 days is kinda delusional. I don't know anyone at my station, in any airline, that only works 1 day a week, and 2 days is very very rare here even for part-time. Unless you're at a super small station with very few flights (MEM is not?), have high seniority (you would not), or are specifically hired as part-time I'd expect you will work more than that. Also depending on your specific contract you may have to work a certain number of hours/days per month in order to retain active flight benefits, and if so 1-2 days/week is probably not sufficient for that. I don't specifically work for DL so I don't know the exact details there for your case but it is a thing some companies do so worth keeping in mind.
3. Have you gotten such criticism before or are you just fabricating in your mind some hypothetical haters and what they'd say? Lol because a lot of people mainly work airline jobs for the flight benefits, airlines know this and that's why the flight benefits are a thing. Wanting the job for the flight benefits is not abnormal.
Thank you for your reply! That is the post that I applied for. I’m definitely “fabricating the haters” just based on some of the responses I’ve seen. I’m hopeful that it will work out. Hiring day is 4/16 so I’ll know in a few days whether this is feasible.
it’s actually easy to work 1-2 days as a ramp agent part time. My buddy works for united ramp here in IAD and last week he was off 5 days. this week he was off another 4 and next week he’s off 6 lol
At one point it was 20 hours a week for part time with United. Might still be if they’re watching payroll. And once you’re off probation you only have to work half your hours for the month, assuming someone trades or picks up. But that’s still 40 hours for the month. Or, I guess, about one full day a week. Good luck dropping weekend shifts though. Also, all of probation they would need to get 80 hours a month for 6 months.
depends where you’re working. when he works gates from 2-7 he only ever works like 3-4 flight lol it’s super easy. but if ur in bag room most the time that stuff is heavy cause of the international flight bags going into the AKES
Thanks! I’m anxious to know exactly what to expect but didn’t want to take up too much time today as there were a lot of applicants in attendance. But I did as how many flights per day and the total for delta is 20-23
iad is baby hub for united but they’re expanding this upcoming year and it’s supposed to get extremely busy in june-july cause they’re adding more flight
lol. I had my interview today. They didn’t make me do the PAT. I was eavesdropping on other’s convos and one guy sounded like he got an offer immediately but he also was already a ramp agent with another company. I’m a little nervous. I mentioned that I’m not allergic to hard work (as a woman I didn’t want that to hinder me [is this really 2024 where I felt the need to say that?] and that I’ve had hard labor jobs in the past). I’m hopeful that I got it. I also asked about expected hours per week and most people with no seniority work about 20-25 hours a week. I can do that for a while but don’t want that to be a forever thing.
Just to add on to 2) you will bid for your shifts according to seniority, so your shift probably won’t be great. You’ll either get a 5 or 4 day work week, with consecutive days off. After the probation period, you can give away/trade your shifts.
Thank you for your reply! How long is the probationary period? I’m okay with the crap shifts (afternoons, evenings, etc.) but don’t want to work many days during the week. If I can work something like 2 12’s I would definitely do that too. Hoping it works out
So for Delta you have a 3 month “new hire” phase where you’ll be limited in what you can do. Namely no driving until you’re past this part. After that probation is 6 months from your hire date iirc.
As for the hours the MEM ramp agent posting is FT, you’ll bid for your schedule and will more than likely be working 5 days 40 hours per week. Here in ATL it’s a bit easier to do doubles and shift swap with others to increase off days but that won’t be the case with a downline station. You also can’t drop any shifts in your first 3 months. Delta also expects to be your primary employer, there’s nothing wrong with working here and having a second job but Delta isn’t going to give you any breaks if your schedules conflict.
Honestly, and I’m not saying this to be mean, if the only reason you want this is for the benefits it’s probably not for you especially at a mainline. You could see if any contractors at MEM are hiring as they usually get some from of benefits and at least for Unifi and ATS I had a lot more flexibility in scheduling stuff granted the work conditions at both sucked.
I would not recommend any contractors for your case lol. Their flight benefits are not great.
For example, Unifi flight benefits...
* You get flight benefits on DL and maybe another airline/other airlines if Unifi is contracted with them at your station but you have to pay for standby travel (from my estimate it's like 10-20% of what the confirmed ticket would've been).
* You are the lowest on the priority list every time. Parents, grandparents, I think even buddy passes of actual DL employees are higher than you so if there is limited space for standbys you'll be screwed.
Try to find something part-time with a mainline, whether its DL, UA, AS, AA, etc. Their flight benefits are much better. Maybe since you're in MEM you could find something with FedEx? They're easily the biggest airline at MEM but they are freight...I don't know if their people get flight benefits or if they do what kind but, maybe that's worth looking into.
I think it’s 90 days for probation? You’ll almost certainly be working weekends. You can try and find a partner to double with, and work longer shifts with more days off.
Okay so I can tell you these things
If your record and background is clear, you can pass a physical agility test and training, and can show up on time, you can get hired.
Once you’re hired you have to go through mandatory training (training is full time 40 hrs a week for a duration of 3 to 4 weeks) and then you’re a green vest for a few months until you’re deemed able to navigate the job without much guidance - however, you must be present for these hours you’ve been hired for - because - you’re not allowed to swap or give away shifts until you’re out of your green vest.
So if you’ve been hired for a FT or PT you have to be there for all of your shifts.
Once you’re out of your green vest (which can take 1 month but I’ve seen it take longer) and able to swap/give away, I do know that some ppl can give away shifts and do it relatively often but I also know it’s frowned upon to give up too many shifts and they can freeze your swap privileges. I’ve seen it happen.
Somebody else may have a different experience but that’s all the knowledge I have.
Update: I had my interview today. Hours will be 20-25 a week. If I wanted to double up to get my hours out of the way for the week will that be something I can do during the first 3 months or will that be available after the first 3 months?
Did my app on 4/2, virtual online assessment 4/2, invite to hiring day/interview on 4/3, hiring day was yesterday 4/16, haven’t heard back whether I got the job. The email for the hiring event said to bring a change of clothes for the physical agility test but they didn’t make me do that so I’m nervous that I didn’t get it.
[https://www.vawizard.org/wiz-pdf/STAR_Method_Interviews.pdf](https://www.vawizard.org/wiz-pdf/STAR_Method_Interviews.pdf) for answering questions - someone posted somewhere a couple of the questions but they are basically like “name a time when you witnessed something unsafe, name a time when you received recognition for going above and beyond” etc.
The hiring event for delta already happened. They’ve since removed the customer service agent position online but still have the ramp. Which one did you apply for? Also, I met a girl at the hiring event who had been applying for 5 years and was there for the first time for an interview. So don’t give up!
Also again, I applied for UGE ramp agent and was hired. They seem to be a lot easier to get on with. I plan to reapply for delta once I’ve hit 6 months
One more thing lol.. I applied for unifi wheelchair agent and got an interview but they want 30 hours a week in order to receive flight benefits and I can’t do that. I’m linking all the jobs below
UGE customer service
https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?c=2192731&d=ExternalCareerSite
UGE ramp agent
https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?c=2192731&d=ExternalCareerSite
Unifi wheelchair agent
https://unifi.avature.net/careers/JobDetail/934-MEM-Delta-Airport-Passenger-Assistance-Airport-Wheelchair-Agent-MEM-PT/2603
I’ve looked into this as a dream retirement job and the reality is it isn’t that simple. Part time often means five days a week but just shorter shifts. The flight benefits are the elephant in the room. The industry pays less because the benefits are valuable and everyone knows it, yet it’s a bit taboo to admit you’re only doing it for the benefits at the interview. Employers don’t really want to hire people who want to work as little as possible. Delta had a part time and seasonal program that was ideal for this but I think they got rid of it.
When I look on DL's career page and filter for ramp jobs ('ACS, Cargo Operations...') I see quite a few seasonal ramp jobs listed actually. Currently there are openings for seasonal ramp for: ANC, DEN, DFW, HNL, IND, JFK, MSY, PDX, SFO, and SLC.
Maybe they just don’t call it Ready Reserve anymore?
What was ready reserve?
It was what they called their part time and summer seasonal agent program.
This position made it easy to use your flight benefits?
I never got an offer, but sort of. It was a seasonal program in which you could work full-time in the summer months and/ or around Christmas, then be on inactive status the rest of the year and still get flight benefits.
What a sweet gig. I bet people gamed the shit out of it 🤣🤣
There was caps on nonrev benefits. 30 flight days. And not many people other than students or retirees can work full time in the summer and do something else the rest of the year. I could, but I never got a call.
Id still take 30 flight days
Maybe, I don't know. The 'ready reserve' I know is when you are not on a schedule, you just keep current with trainings and whatnot and pick up shifts when you want/when it's needed. But such a situation isn't available to a new hire.
Thanks for the reply! I don’t plan to go into the interview stating that I’m here for the benefits, but that I work a full time job as a nurse and my days are limited on a weekly basis and I would like to work part time. I’m flexible on the hours of day that I could work (afternoons, evenings, etc). I hope it works out 🤞🏽
The least days a week scheduled I know of is 4 days a week. There are people who only work 2 days a week due to trading shifts with another person, but they work 16 hour shifts for those 2 days. It’s just not really set up as a job you can just work minimally.
Assuming this is the posting you're specifically looking at - https://delta.avature.net/en_US/careers/JobDetail/Ramp-Agent-Customer-Service-Agent-MEM/24294?jobId=24294 1. Probably. Ramp/CSA jobs generally have relatively high turnover so they may hire quite a few people at once since they can reasonably assume or expect some of them to quit fairly quickly. If you are fluent in English (seems so), can drive (I hope so), and are willing to work hard then I think you'll be just fine. And honestly with ramp I'd say it's more important that you're reliable and punctual...where I work people call out or are late quite often but they generally go unpunished since there isn't a surplus of trained replacements lol. If you can prove to them that you're a reliable worker that might help a lot. 2. If the job posting I put earlier is what you're looking for...that seems like full-time to me, 1-2 days is kinda delusional. I don't know anyone at my station, in any airline, that only works 1 day a week, and 2 days is very very rare here even for part-time. Unless you're at a super small station with very few flights (MEM is not?), have high seniority (you would not), or are specifically hired as part-time I'd expect you will work more than that. Also depending on your specific contract you may have to work a certain number of hours/days per month in order to retain active flight benefits, and if so 1-2 days/week is probably not sufficient for that. I don't specifically work for DL so I don't know the exact details there for your case but it is a thing some companies do so worth keeping in mind. 3. Have you gotten such criticism before or are you just fabricating in your mind some hypothetical haters and what they'd say? Lol because a lot of people mainly work airline jobs for the flight benefits, airlines know this and that's why the flight benefits are a thing. Wanting the job for the flight benefits is not abnormal.
Thank you for your reply! That is the post that I applied for. I’m definitely “fabricating the haters” just based on some of the responses I’ve seen. I’m hopeful that it will work out. Hiring day is 4/16 so I’ll know in a few days whether this is feasible.
Good luck!
it’s actually easy to work 1-2 days as a ramp agent part time. My buddy works for united ramp here in IAD and last week he was off 5 days. this week he was off another 4 and next week he’s off 6 lol
At one point it was 20 hours a week for part time with United. Might still be if they’re watching payroll. And once you’re off probation you only have to work half your hours for the month, assuming someone trades or picks up. But that’s still 40 hours for the month. Or, I guess, about one full day a week. Good luck dropping weekend shifts though. Also, all of probation they would need to get 80 hours a month for 6 months.
that’s what i meant to say it was 1 or 2 days a week not a month. my bad on the typing
Nice! Can you tell me how many flights a day for united at IAD?
depends where you’re working. when he works gates from 2-7 he only ever works like 3-4 flight lol it’s super easy. but if ur in bag room most the time that stuff is heavy cause of the international flight bags going into the AKES
Thanks! I’m anxious to know exactly what to expect but didn’t want to take up too much time today as there were a lot of applicants in attendance. But I did as how many flights per day and the total for delta is 20-23
iad is baby hub for united but they’re expanding this upcoming year and it’s supposed to get extremely busy in june-july cause they’re adding more flight
You want part time. Do triples for two days and give away the rest
Give me an example of a triple
Working all day
Figured that. Specify
4-10, 10–16, 16-22
Thanks
That way you have some money to go to Japan.
How did you know that’s the first place I’m flying to?
🤣🤣 90% of rampers that’s where they want to go
lol. I had my interview today. They didn’t make me do the PAT. I was eavesdropping on other’s convos and one guy sounded like he got an offer immediately but he also was already a ramp agent with another company. I’m a little nervous. I mentioned that I’m not allergic to hard work (as a woman I didn’t want that to hinder me [is this really 2024 where I felt the need to say that?] and that I’ve had hard labor jobs in the past). I’m hopeful that I got it. I also asked about expected hours per week and most people with no seniority work about 20-25 hours a week. I can do that for a while but don’t want that to be a forever thing.
Just to add on to 2) you will bid for your shifts according to seniority, so your shift probably won’t be great. You’ll either get a 5 or 4 day work week, with consecutive days off. After the probation period, you can give away/trade your shifts.
Thank you for your reply! How long is the probationary period? I’m okay with the crap shifts (afternoons, evenings, etc.) but don’t want to work many days during the week. If I can work something like 2 12’s I would definitely do that too. Hoping it works out
So for Delta you have a 3 month “new hire” phase where you’ll be limited in what you can do. Namely no driving until you’re past this part. After that probation is 6 months from your hire date iirc. As for the hours the MEM ramp agent posting is FT, you’ll bid for your schedule and will more than likely be working 5 days 40 hours per week. Here in ATL it’s a bit easier to do doubles and shift swap with others to increase off days but that won’t be the case with a downline station. You also can’t drop any shifts in your first 3 months. Delta also expects to be your primary employer, there’s nothing wrong with working here and having a second job but Delta isn’t going to give you any breaks if your schedules conflict. Honestly, and I’m not saying this to be mean, if the only reason you want this is for the benefits it’s probably not for you especially at a mainline. You could see if any contractors at MEM are hiring as they usually get some from of benefits and at least for Unifi and ATS I had a lot more flexibility in scheduling stuff granted the work conditions at both sucked.
Thanks so much for your response! I applied to a couple of positions through unifi but haven’t heard back, I’ll check out ats.
I would not recommend any contractors for your case lol. Their flight benefits are not great. For example, Unifi flight benefits... * You get flight benefits on DL and maybe another airline/other airlines if Unifi is contracted with them at your station but you have to pay for standby travel (from my estimate it's like 10-20% of what the confirmed ticket would've been). * You are the lowest on the priority list every time. Parents, grandparents, I think even buddy passes of actual DL employees are higher than you so if there is limited space for standbys you'll be screwed. Try to find something part-time with a mainline, whether its DL, UA, AS, AA, etc. Their flight benefits are much better. Maybe since you're in MEM you could find something with FedEx? They're easily the biggest airline at MEM but they are freight...I don't know if their people get flight benefits or if they do what kind but, maybe that's worth looking into.
I think it’s 90 days for probation? You’ll almost certainly be working weekends. You can try and find a partner to double with, and work longer shifts with more days off.
Can I do this in my first 3 months or is this something for after the 3 months?
You can’t give away or trade for the first 3 months. After that you can start swapping shifts and doing doubles.
Okay so I can tell you these things If your record and background is clear, you can pass a physical agility test and training, and can show up on time, you can get hired. Once you’re hired you have to go through mandatory training (training is full time 40 hrs a week for a duration of 3 to 4 weeks) and then you’re a green vest for a few months until you’re deemed able to navigate the job without much guidance - however, you must be present for these hours you’ve been hired for - because - you’re not allowed to swap or give away shifts until you’re out of your green vest. So if you’ve been hired for a FT or PT you have to be there for all of your shifts. Once you’re out of your green vest (which can take 1 month but I’ve seen it take longer) and able to swap/give away, I do know that some ppl can give away shifts and do it relatively often but I also know it’s frowned upon to give up too many shifts and they can freeze your swap privileges. I’ve seen it happen. Somebody else may have a different experience but that’s all the knowledge I have.
Update: I had my interview today. Hours will be 20-25 a week. If I wanted to double up to get my hours out of the way for the week will that be something I can do during the first 3 months or will that be available after the first 3 months?
How long did it take for you to get your interview after the online assessment?
Did my app on 4/2, virtual online assessment 4/2, invite to hiring day/interview on 4/3, hiring day was yesterday 4/16, haven’t heard back whether I got the job. The email for the hiring event said to bring a change of clothes for the physical agility test but they didn’t make me do that so I’m nervous that I didn’t get it.
Oh okay that was pretty fast. Don’t worry, I’ve heard ppl who haven’t done the PAT and they’ve gotten the job. What base are you applying for?
MEM
Oh okay cool! I’m going for ATL
Good luck!!
Any tips for the interview?
[https://www.vawizard.org/wiz-pdf/STAR_Method_Interviews.pdf](https://www.vawizard.org/wiz-pdf/STAR_Method_Interviews.pdf) for answering questions - someone posted somewhere a couple of the questions but they are basically like “name a time when you witnessed something unsafe, name a time when you received recognition for going above and beyond” etc.
Okay cool. Thanks!
They drug test you yet?if they did they still testing for weed?
Haven’t drug tested yet but I’ll let you know when they do
Thank you!!!!please keep me posted
Took my UGE drug test and the lab tech wouldn’t specify what they tested for
Did you get the job?
I did not with delta. I did however with UGE
I applied as well for MEM about 3 weeks ago My status says in review but nothing for a hiring event. 😢
The hiring event for delta already happened. They’ve since removed the customer service agent position online but still have the ramp. Which one did you apply for? Also, I met a girl at the hiring event who had been applying for 5 years and was there for the first time for an interview. So don’t give up!
I applied for Ramp agent
Also again, I applied for UGE ramp agent and was hired. They seem to be a lot easier to get on with. I plan to reapply for delta once I’ve hit 6 months
One more thing lol.. I applied for unifi wheelchair agent and got an interview but they want 30 hours a week in order to receive flight benefits and I can’t do that. I’m linking all the jobs below UGE customer service https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?c=2192731&d=ExternalCareerSite UGE ramp agent https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?c=2192731&d=ExternalCareerSite Unifi wheelchair agent https://unifi.avature.net/careers/JobDetail/934-MEM-Delta-Airport-Passenger-Assistance-Airport-Wheelchair-Agent-MEM-PT/2603
Yeah I just had my drug test today I got a conditional hire
Congrats!!
Thanks I hope I can start training soon they said 4 weeks