Were the furlough returns seatlocked? Did we get a number of TWA 757's in 2007? Was Glen H. pushing capable airplanes further and thus increasing their utilization / block hours? Was Delta growing? Were f-Delta lineholders on the 767 in Atlanta integrated with mid pack junior DC9B's and f-NWA furlough bypass pilots?

In my estimation, those who bypassed recall did so because the opportunity available to them was not good enough for them to decide to return. If the choice was a commute to a DC9 or a commute to an ER position with a significant pay raise and restoration of longevity ... well, those are pretty obviously completely different choices.

Just my opinion man.

It is also my opinion the 767 and ER went junior on a few bids because like any growing category many pilots hold back for a cycle or two in order to get a better idea of what trips their seniority can hold. On the ER that's a pretty big change from low time unaugmented non commutable pairings, higher time domestic, and more valuable augmented pairings. The noob's didn't care, the pay and getting to fly the 767 was enough for them to jump on it at the first opportunity ... and there is not a huge pay differential from the NB to the ER if a guy can bid well on the NB equipment.

Mid and junior NYC ER may flush on this bid because of the value of the trips and lack of com-mutability. We will see. "Call in Honest" (thanks to f-NWA) helps.

I've bid a return to my beloved MD88 to continue working on basic airworthiness through bulletin publication. I could hold a line on the ER, but as some of the more senior guys decided in 2008, there is enough hassle and uncertainty there to make a job in Douglas flight test a better option.