The bottom trips are the trips that no one wanted in the bidding process. Things can change, guys need different days off after the month starts, but few go looking for the trips that everyone avoided in the first pass (monthly PBS bidding). The 4 day trip over the July 4th weekend, that lands and departs from 2 different airports, has a deadhead, a 4.5 hr sit, and an all-nighter? Yeah, it went to the junior guys for a reason.

Senior in bid status? Holding trips that almost everyone wants? They'll go like hot cakes. Why? Because they're the great mid week trips. Like the 7-8 hr turn to the islands, or the 2 day trip that leaves at 9 PM, lands at before 11 PM, and is a deadhead home? Or the two day transcon that leaves at 4 PM and lands at 5 PM the next day? Those go in a heartbeat. Neighbor was top 5% in his bid status - "I didn't fly one of my trips that I was awarded for Dec or Jan." He'd get premium and then get rid of his great trip playing the game to get more premium...pick up another premium trip and drop the next great trip. By the end of the month the piggy bank is full of premium and he didn't fly one awarded trip.

So the quality of the trip, hours, and the days that it's on, matter. Junior trips suck for both quality and the days, or hours, it works. Some luck trading with open time to improve the trip quality. Reserve gets a wider distribution of trip quality but the best trips are grabbed if they're not a last minute drop to open time/reserve.