The max pick up will mitigate the costs, but your other points are a bit off. "All" the senior FO's won't be able to take advangate of it, unless you define "senior" to the number that can do it, in which case I guess that would be technically correct, although it would prove my point anyway.

And its not really a big win for the whole pilot group, only those who can buddy bid. That number will be limited by the number of active LCA's in any given month in the first place. Right now, not such a big problem, but when we see massive retirements and (maybe) new hire training, this will be a huge cost on our contract. Come contract time, to keep the windfall for a tiny percentage of pilots will require a subsidy by all.

The previous system mandated added protections for OE recovery for the pilots effected. I absolutely support that. But not the creation of a little micro empire where a tiny few can get all month off with pay, and in many cases pick up extra pay for working a tiny fraction of a month total. That is a rediculous way to spend our negotiating capital. Even so, if we can't sell it back for something of equal or greater net value to the entire group, then let's keep it. I'm not advocating giving it away for nothing. But this will become very expensive in a couple years, and we will have to expend significant negotiating capital to keep it, for the massive benefit of a select few. I predict it won't last for that reason.

No pilot has an inherent right to be off all month just because they can buddy bid or pairing bid with OE trips/CA's. That is absolutely not the same as "using seniority to bid good trips" as you have suggested. If that were true, let's mandate the company create full credit lines with zero flying and let pilots bid those in seniority order. Think that would ever happen? I guess it could, if we were willing to fund it. But why?

I predict this won't last.