Originally Posted by
El Peso
how does every other airline award new captain positions? Straight into a line holder in the most desirable base?
It's all about choice. If you're willing to commute to the "worst" base and do reserve, you generally have the option of upgrading sooner than people who prefer to wait until their choice of base is available or they have the seniority to hold a line. Which is why I asked what the upgrade time was in bases off of the East coast. I consider a 3 yr upgrade to sit RSV in LGA while having to cover EWR and also JFK not even remotely close to worth it...especially since I commute from the Mountain time zone. If your commute is shorter or you live in the NYC area, it would probably be appealing.
For SWA: I won't bid OAK or LAX for SWA. Especially won't bid the Etops bid group because that means a 6 month lock in either of those 2 bases. And it'd be easier here than at AA, DL, UAL since we don't have to cover multiple bases. I still wouldn't bid it. I'd call a 3 yr upgrade an outlier since it went that junior for a reason....if a majority bypass it, it should tell you something.