Tony,

I guess 15-30 guys are ahead of me on FEPP list. However, next vacancy bid, 15-29 of them "might" hold WB captain somewhere else so I pretty much plan on being #1. If you bid it--that's how you have to plan. Then again, 100 guys might bid for FEPP that are senior to me on this bid, so who knows. I check on round trip ticket prices to HKG about every 2-3 months on Delta and expedia, and like the guys in front of me who got tagged I'm ready to go tomorrow if required.

Bid what you want, be ready to face the music.

Understand you dig at the guys who bid ANC, but honestly--have you seen how much INTL flying is left in the MEM bid back? We got guys hired 5 years after me that can DH to Paris from ANC, or DH to MEM and go HNL/SYD, and I cannot hold VCP or SJU in our MEM bidpack. I think some of the flight to ANC has been from the guys who commute anyway and want to fly some INTL. I look at my travel pix from 3-4 years ago and I saw Penang, Hong Kong, Cologne, Milan, etc. These days I see SLC (nice), OAK (nice), but it ain't the same. I think some guys bid it because a little longer flight to work is worth the rewards. Its ALL a great job, but its not the magic carpet tour bus it was a while back. And--sounds like it will get worse before it gets better. I don't want to do IND turns for a career--I want to see the world. I think some of the ANC guys feel the same, but I'll let then chime in for themselves.

Edit: I think FEPP info, including pilot emp numbers, is on the ALPA site on grievance page. Guys can do their own research and make their own decisions, but probably better to look at source docs instead of "some guy on APC said...."