chase

shrsail,

Upgrade to CA at XO is a combination of factors:

1. Seniority (not strict but for the most part it appears to be going by that standard but XO uses the option peer evaluations to insure CA candidates will successfully upgrade)
2. Minimum number of CA recommendation letters that state the case of why the individual is ready for upgrade
3. Desire to upgrade. No forced upgrades

In a few cases, such as recently when CAs left the company after being furloughed from a 121 carrier, pilots who returned within 90 days maintained their previous seat position. They lost no seniority in returning. Those who came back after that 90 days went to bottom of seniority list

Covid pretty much shut down CA upgrade for 12-18 months but upgrade classes have been occurring since Jan, albeit small numbers but that is changing as classes are becoming more regular and with more than 1 or 2. Hard to estimate upgrade times as the dust is still settling from OALs hiring, inevitable attrition and airplane acquisition can make the guessing game a head scratcher.

hope that helps.