...and in another little ironic twist, a buddy of mine who COULD NOT hold a MEM MD-11 slot got a -10 slot instead. He'll be on the line making WB pay by the end of year 1. Guys just a few numbers senior to him who "got" the MD won't be in class for another year and will still be plumbing.

Yeah...he'll have to go to training again (maybe) in a few years. But he's flying a widebody this fall...

Two fixes.... First--have frequent, small bids.... Line pilots love it, training and mgt hate it--they want stability and ability to long range forecast. Second, bid what you want to fly WHERE you want to fly.

Not to sound condescending, but when we are fussing about whether or not we get a widebody at year 1, 1.5, or 2 then we have some good problems to fight about.