Originally Posted by
Timbo
The only reason LAX got junior is because they grew it at both the top end by adding all that 777 time, and at the bottom with the 717. Somehow I don't see that happening in MSP so it'll always be a senior base, more so since it used to be a huge NW base with international wide body flying based there.
The guys who own houses there who were A330 Captains now have to commute to somewhere else or bid down to the 767 if they want to stay in MSP, that's what makes it so senior. It won't get a lot more junior until all those guys have retired.
Seniority in LAX just flat out collapsed. Last October, just 7 months ago, it took 17 years to hold 737 A - now it is down to about 4 years.
I agree with your post above with the addition of cost of living. Who wants to spend close to 7 figures for a house and also get hit with a high State income tax. LAX has probably absorbed most of the guys with SOCAL roots and now with people not wanting to move here it is going much more junior with commuters - sort of like NYC but without the crappy weather.
For the reasons you listed I do not see as dramatic a change in MSP but I do see it coming down to about 5 years within a couple of years.
Scoop