Originally Posted by
Dave Fitzgerald
You have to understand the inertia on the 747. Meaning, once at rest, it's likely they will continue to stay at rest. Meaning, not likely to bid off, and hold on to the bitter end.
Even that, most are senior enough they can hold just about anything they want, so in most cases, a free bump is meaningless.
Sure but without a bump, a vacancy must be open. I agree that most -400 pilots will hang on til the end, not because of inertia, but to better see the seniority landscape as it exists in a year.
Displacement allows a pilot to bid any position his seniority can hold, no vacancy required, and bid out asap if he decides he doesn't like the new position. You call that meaningless?
The top third of SFO -400 FOs can hold 787 CAP or better. When was the last time the company posted 70+ 787 CAP bids? I think you'll see the -400 fleet drawdown be anything but meaningless to manpower planning.