Originally Posted by
Freeflyfreak
Actually it is a little longer than that because: "A pilot who completes required training after the effective date of an award shall begin any applicable lock-in on the first day of the contractual month following the completion of training, but no later than the first day of the second (2nd) contractual month following the commencement of training."
Plus you can potentially be withheld for 6 months after an award.
So 6 months plus 2 months plus a potential 6 months withheld.
However, at the company's discretion they can also release you from a lock early if they are hurting for people in a particular status. Early lock-in releases have happened recently too.
So worst case scenario 14ish months locked and withheld from beginning training.
Best case scenario, awarded a bid while still in training and released from the lock in by the company (yes it has happened).
It is a lot to weigh, but like I said, I don't regret it.
OK, so to clarify, let's say I'm the oldest and want to preserve my #1 status by choosing the 1st training end date, no matter the base/equipment. What I really want, however, is say the 75/76 in MIA, so I put in a bid for that equipment/base after the fact. Maybe I end up with the worst case scenario like you mention above, and that's ok, but if the company wants to switch my training to the 75/76 any time, even before I class up for my original equipment, and I get delayed and am now effectively the last one from my IIRC class to finish training, I'm still senior to everyone else in my class because it's based on the original IIRC training equipment selection completion date only, right?