SGRogue

There are good points to be made about going 756 and none of this discussion applies to the 756. But if you haven't figured it out, most new hires go 737 or bus to either coast because of the shorter reserve time and ability to bid up without a 2 year seat lock. I won't get into which coast is better for trips or seniority (after being here 7 months, they are fairly close in both those categories for me). Instead, you should let where you live/commute from dictate your choice (I know an east coast 737 guy slightly senior to me that is bidding back to SFO because his commute is easier than to EWR).

Even if all they offer you on day one is SFO/LAX, you're realistically only one or two vacancy bids from getting to EWR or DCA (possibly even before out of training). If ORD, DEN, IAH or CLE is your end game, no matter what aircraft you chose it could be 6 months to 6 years because of the seniority/lack of movement and when you get there you'll be on reserve. But hey everyone in my class that wanted ORD, DEN, or IAH is there now and sitting reserve at home (their idea if QOL).

Another reality, unless you live within respectable driving distance, you'll be commuting to sit reserve at a crashpad (don't expect to sit long call from home your entire reserve block). You'll get tagged for short call and field stand by periodically (or you can volunteer for it to control your reserve block). Crashpad life sucks in general, but some locations suck more than others.

In a nut shell, don't think of where you want to be after IOE, but rather where do you want to be in 1 year. On the 737 or bus, you have a shot at getting to any base (except CLE) within that year in today's climate. Oh yeah, don't forget that GUM is on the table.