Its 6 bid periods not 6 months. They snuck that one in there because we usually have a bid every month but it's not required.
there is something like 945 FOs bypassing. I'm willing to bet a beer that of that group a huge portion is FAT and on the east coast. How long will they hold out, who knows. After this last pause I dont know if that changes peoples minds about when to upgrade. If they try to balance the crews ASAP then I'll upgrade in a yr. That's 6 yrs for me for upgrade. If people still bypass.
we also have a few retirements that will further skew the balance.
if it were me I'd run some upgrades this fall to try and balance it a bit more before recalling and hiring. Then recall everyone by Feb and be hiring in March with 500 upgrades next yr.
They had big plans for all the extra pilots until the plandemic hit. I think those plans are still in play and we'll need everyone we can get in the next few yrs.