There will be another bid in the spring. Not sure on the timing but shortly after, before?, newhires start class. If it's before there will be no passover. I don't think they'll get enough takers for 757 FO. The last bid was easy to fill with all the recently downgraded folks and large number of SOs getting their first shot at upgrade. The next one will mark a return to normalcy.

Retirements will once again be a big factor and will create a bunch of vacancies in the big jets. Many will in the middle will pass on upgrade for QOL knowing another chance to upgrade will be right around the corner. That leaves the rest of us near the bottom who go to training "too often" chasing the almighty $. These folks give the company a headache so they dream up MOABs and direct hire to FO to combat the ever increasing forecast of training cycles.

If I were a bean counter I would like to put newhires into the 757 instead of current SOs with the next bid. Some former SOs will just be getting off high mins as narrowbody FOs when they go to widebody FO in 2011 in conjunction with the next bid. The company would rather not lose the two months of productivity and sim/flex time caused by every SO that does that. They will be busy enough training the bare minimum of upgrades for that to cost extra. If there is passover it will be made up by efficiencies elsewhere. Not paying flexes draft or contracting for offsite sim use will be worth it.

The training plan that resulted in a huge blunder when regulated age change and the great recession hit may just work out 2011-2012.