Originally Posted by
jtrain609
That's because the list is expanding behind you, and puts you 15% up the list in an incredibly short period of time.
Or, for those of you keeping score at home, United has to hire 1200 pilots annually WITHOUT shrinking their fleet to have the same seniority gain felt on their list. For anyone paying attention, United stopped hiring while they parked their 747 fleet.
Gaining 10% of seniority annually is amazing in this industry, and it doesn't matter if it comes from expansion or retirements, it's felt the same way when it comes to bidding power.
But that's the kicker. Retirements are guaranteed. How many does jetblue have in the next 10 years? It's less than 200!
At this point a new hire at JB would need the company to grow by 3500 pilots to reach 50% in 10 years. How likely do you think that is? At the same time united and AA both retire over 50% of their list.
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