Bump and flush is far from the good old days. I’m not sure we want to go back to that system. It allowed a bunch of guys who passed voluntarily on opportunities to upgrade or go to the seat they wanted during the good times (ex: last bid 21-01) and then use the bad times (bid 23-01) to force people out of seats that they had bid to and gone to training for. More people were forced into training as a result. When you go to training and endure all that comes with it, you don’t expect to be bumped out just because another guy has buyers remorse. I’m sorry you can’t use your seniority to bump somebody out of a seat that they bid for and held on the last bid (and you could have held also) and it may seem frustrating to you that guys junior to you might be able to go to a seat you want. However, those individuals are being forced from their seat or they are in a seat that is overmanned and so they’re choosing to go to keep somebody else from getting forced out of that seat. If enough people bid to your seat as the process plays out, your seat can become overmanned and the senior guys in that seat can choose to bid out or junior guys get forced out.

Just because Fedex decides to reduce manning in some seats at the airline does not mean it is a free-for-all and anybody can go to any seat that their seniority holds. That would be stupid like bump and flush was stupid. At your seniority you could have bid to almost if not every seat on the last bid.

Fortune favors the bold. Go to the seat you want when you can. You never know when you’ll hold it again.