Originally Posted by
TFAYD
there will likely be more 737 CA awards in subsequent bids due to backfill but I don’t there will be large primary vacancies - just as the CRU states.
to put it in perspective. This is about summer 2026 staffing. Hiring 2500 new pilots or whatever number it will be for next year has very little to do with summer staffing. Only folks hired between now and February will be relevant for summer 2026. The December vacancy will be mostly Bus CA per the CRU - yes - there is this other NB aircraft too that needs to be staffed.
Assuming that we are a bit fat on CA now - the numbers start to tie.
as for aircraft deliveries - only a fraction will be relevant for summer 2026 flying and don’t assume that they are all growth. A lot of older gear could get parked.
Never said there would be "large vacancies". Just that this wasn't the only chance for someone to be awarded 737 CA and numerous CRUs said this only started the training pipeline and there would be more smaller vacancies and backfills. I can't imagine we train 200 737 CA by March and then no more for the year, while current 737 CAs are either retiring or upgrading to WBCA plus aircraft deliveries.
We will see if 200 is the total number of 737 CA awarded, alluded to by the OP, for the year or there are in fact many more.