Originally Posted by
Plabelover
Sorry I’m a little uneducated on contracts, but force upgrades as in the regionals when you reach 1000hr of 121 they just put you in an upgrade class and you don’t get a say in it? Or is it different?
again I apologize if it’s an uneducated question
No. This is different. Someone may be “forced” because they’re bottom b***ch in newhire class. Exactly the same as some of the more junior new hires have been forced to the right seats of the 777 and 787 right away. See my response below to another poster:
Originally Posted by
TOGALOCK
No. CA spots will be a biddable position in indoc. For a class of 50 there may be:
20 737 FO IAH
10 A30 FO EWR
10 787 FO SFO
10 737 CA IAH
Class seniority is oldest to youngest. The oldest chooses first and then down the class seniority they go. What’s left over to the most junior is what the most junior get. If the 10 Captain spots are left when it gets down to the last 10 most junior people… captain they get.
It’s no different than the widebody FO spots going to the junior people in class recently. They are “forced” by virtue of being the youngest/most junior in class. So they get the leftovers that the more senior people in class don’t want.
So, no. Your example can’t happen. If you are awarded an FO spot in indoc, you’re safe. The company can’t force an FO to upgrade against their will. If you live in IAH and get IAH 737 FO in class and want to live out your career as a 737 FO in IAH, you’re free to do that.
In addition, to the above the new hire in the left seat will still need to fly as an FO for 350 hours in the type of aircraft they will be a captain on. They will also need a mandatory 100 hours of IOE.
Also, their captain spot isn’t guaranteed until they start training. That captain position will still be available to more senior pilots up until the point that new hire starts upgrade training. So, just simply getting (or being forced) the award in indoc doesn’t mean that it can’t be pulled out from under you leading up to your upgrade training.
In the end I think we’re going to see very few people ultimately being forced into upgrade training.