The last AE saw about 4 months to hold the left seat of the 7ER (Delta speak for 75/76) in NYC. That was the most junior upgrade I think and will come with some opportunities to do trans-Atlantic Europe and Africa flying.

Some think that the new contract will push people to want to upgrade and it will trend more senior. I personally disagree just based anecdotally on talking to many pilots out on the line. Mid seniority FOs are making great money (as much as a junior narrowbody CA in some cases) and they have way more schedule flexibility plus weekends and some holidays off if they want them. Junior FOs are already junior. So looking at a 4-6 month upgrade doesn’t change much from their perspective and they haven’t had the opportunity to get a taste of the great QOL a mid-seniority/senior narrowbody FO has.

I could be wrong, but I don’t see the narrowbody upgrades going more senior until the music slows with hiring and/or the economy starts to take a toll on business and the greenslips start to dry up. This next AE will be telling.