Originally Posted by
Hedley
I’ve flown with several FO’s who are senior to me who do it. By bidding with LCA’s they can maintain control of their schedules and still make more than they could as a captain considering that premium flying has dried up. They get first pick on vacation, they’re always off for holidays, and it’s their decision to either chase time off or money. Having 2 trips a month bought and picking up equal time earns them more than a captain flying their published line. It’s not always consistent, but for those who are senior enough and willing to game the system, there isn’t a good reason to upgrade. The WB guys senior enough to do the same really make a killing.
I do that in a junior base and typically get one trip a month dropped and can double dip. I have heard recently of some friends only getting a portion of their trip bought instead of the whole trip which can be frustrating. One of them even had the middle days bought off them so they ended up with like 50+ hours in a domicile doing nothing. Can be good or bad depending on what you like to do on overnights.