I've read a few places that you should list your first day of Terminal Leave as your Date of Availability for the airlines. I've also heard that some people "game" this date of availability to be up to a couple months earlier than that. I have a pending retirement with nearly four months of terminal to burn through. If my goal is to double-dip as long as possible, what's the best date to use? Considering after you get the interview invite, you will have several weeks before the actual interview, and possibly a few more weeks before the job offer, and then several more weeks/months before your class starts...wouldn't it make sense to "lead-turn" your date of availability? In the odd chance that you are offered a class date before your terminal date, don't most airlines allow you to defer your class date for a certain amount of time? For those out there who have already made the jump and were able to maximize their double-dipping, what date did you use?