Denny,

Had a long talk with CR&P and ALPA during the JAN bid on behalf of a bubba that was being displaced from NYC 777. They told me flat out if your category is being closed, just put in a MD. Since it's an iterative process, AE, and MD are run consecutively.

If your seniority can't hold it, you won't get it. Since its a new category they basically fill the slots in seniority order with those desiring them. If one guy gets it on an AE he can't be bumped by an MD unless the MD is senior and then the whole stack drops down and the computer does another iteration. Its a big if then else loop for you computer geeks out there.

But for sure, don't take any advice off of an anonymous message board. Do your own due diligence. Call ALPA. read the papers they've distributed and/or call CR&P.