Originally Posted by stickmonkey

O wise ones of the forum, thanks for all of the invaluable advice. I’ve learned a wealth of knowledge sifting through these threads for countless hours over the last year but, being new to the airline industry, am still in need for some guidance. I retired from the military last year and am gratefully starting Indoc with the next class later this month. Very excited! …and honored to join the Delta team.

There has been some recent outstanding advice regarding initial bids, equipment and getting based out of LAX. Especially helpful are some of Scoop’s posts.

However, in light of the most recent AE, I need to build a solid game plan for my initial bid. I live in San Diego and will live here permanently. My number one goal is QOL and thereby being based out of LAX. With LAX only having the 737 and the 7ER, I’m naturally looking to bid one of those two. Luckily for me, I have a fairly high last four, 8XXX, for the initial bid.

Rather than listing all of my thoughts and concerns comparing the 737 vs the 7ER out of LAX (I know that I’ll be happy as hell in either), my main thought is choosing whichever will get me to LAX the quickest. My reasoning: after looking at the AE and recent Flight Ops memos, LAX has a much smaller percentage of pilots bidding out than let’s say NYC. Even though I had buddies getting 737 LAX within six months of Indoc last year, that may not be the same this year as those vacancies are quickly being filled. Even with the growth of the 737 fleet, I have no doubt that a surplus of pilots who have been hired even in the last few months will be in line ahead of me for LAX. It’s not like NYC where pilots are bidding out at the cyclic rate. The most recent AE did not have any LAX vacancies—neither on the 737 nor on the 7ER. The AE in Nov, as I recall, did not have LAX 7ER vacancies. I’m not sure which I may prefer, given the choice, but my thought is that if I get to LAX on one and want to switch to the other later, I would likely have the seniority to be awarded that after my one-year seat lock expires—especially with the expected hiring numbers. I don’t mind going back to the school house when required.

So, my specific questions:

(1) Which will get me to LAX the quickest? (with the assumption that it’s a prediction only)
(2) Would you agree with this mindset...choosing the 737 or 7ER based solely upon which would get me to LAX the quickest? If not, then why?
(3) Knowing that LAX will not be on my new-hire drop and considering that I have to commute from San Diego, which would be a better choice for commuting/QOL: ATL or NYC? …and would your answer be the same for both the 737 and 7ER?
(4) If the timeline to LAX on the 737 and the 7ER is close enough that it's a wash, what are other considerations for choosing one over the other?

Thanks much in advance!