All FO seats are going junior & unfilled- though the WBs less so than the NBs. Part of this is the way the company has to create vacant positions to hire people- and we’re hiring a lot of people.

Why does WBFO go junior at all? At least some of it has to do with how international flying was affected by COVID. Some WB fleets ended up with deep reserve staffing; and certain layovers became much less desirable. (Locked in a hotel room for days.) I think once Asia fully recovers, some of this WBFO anomaly will correct itself.

The pace of growth & hiring has a role to play, too. In the past, it took so long to even have the opportunity to upgrade or move fleets that by the time your number came up, your mindset was already fully geared toward taking it. Now there are so many opportunities that it’s coming before people have even really considered it.