Assuming he wants to spend another month on Virginia Ave. It's not that much fun down there when he could be picking up on base premium pay. I'd choose dtw73, DTW 320 then DTW 717 in that order. The year two pay hit for being on the 717 is reason enough to stay with the larger NB

 

320 is what you want - DTW of course but any base.. there will be plenty of 320 growth and movement to get your to DTW, probably before you're done with OE.

What's happening with the 717 is unsure right now. 320 is much more definite.

 

And I'll add that if DTW is your goal, Bid DTW airplane choice #1, DTW airplane choice #2, DTW airplane choice #3 and then pick either either 737 or 320 in any base that it's available based on what you want to fly. Base transfers are happening almost every monthly bid these days and you may get your choice of airplane in DTW withing the footprint of your training. YMMV.

Id rather commute for a couple months flying the airplane I want rather than enduring another stint on VA Ave to get there.

 

First of all, congrats!

IMO you have to ask yourself if you’re willing to commute for a bit. Most likely a couple months after OE to either ATL or (less likely lately) NYC. If so, I’d pick 320 then 737 in those bases if not available for DTW. There will most likely be a couple AE’s you’ll be eligible for before you finish OE.

If however you want DTW every single day after OE, then bid any plane there including the 717. Just realize it’s a dying airplane. No one knows how much longer it has. If “trip variety” is important to you, you will hate it. I personally don’t care about that as long as I like the layovers I’m fine with anything even if it’s monotonous.

FWIW, now may be a great time to bid the 73 because it’s less popular (less senior) and you’ll be in, qualed and comfortable by the time the MAX arrives (yeah, I know…) and the flying then should improve a lot. It used to have much better flying when it had TV’s and the 320 didn’t, then it lost even more cherry flying to the more efficient NEO. The MAX will restore much of that in a couple years. It’s the least roomy flight deck if that matters to you. It used to be the loudest but the one ear on one ear off culture is finally dying off.

The 717 only works 2 time zones, has no trip variety, does a lot of legs per day (some will pop chaff just to complain that there are 3-4 leg days in other fleets which is correct, but the 717 will do more legs per day on average over the long run) and blocks the least per month for the same credit. Your seniority will advance faster in it, but other than specific days off it won’t matter as the trips are pretty much the same.

Long term, to avoid initial training events, 320 all day, one and done for a career.

To me, the plane you want trumps the base you want in today’s environment because any of the 3 should get you to DTW within a couple months after OE at the latest in most cases.

Good luck and welcome!

 

Hi there. This is more hypothetical/curious than anything as I do not have an interview scheduled currently (but do have a M&G upcoming).

What's the difference in seniority at LAX between the various NB types. If someone was east-coast based and wanted to transfer to LAX sometime in the winter this year or spring of next year (assumes being on property today or later this year obviously), what fleet types would make this possible sooner? I assume the 73?

How senior is LAX in general?

Also, I'm sure it's been asked before (possibly by myself?) but is there any indication classes will run through, or after, summer 2026? Thanks!

 

Shameless plug for the topic of another recent thread on this forum, but you can create a free temporary account at www.widgetseniority.com to see much of what you're asking about as it relates to seniority across fleets/bases.

Short version, LAX is similar to ATL in being very slightly above-average in seniority required vs other bases. 737 is typically junior to 320, with both being junior to 7ER.

Unconfirmed musings are that at least some hiring will continue after summer.

Best of luck!

 

If you get a base and airplane that you don't like; roughly how long would it be until you could bid a new base on reserve/ switch equipment?

 

If the trend of monthly AE holds (no indication that it won't), you can bid for a new base as soon as the first AE once you're on property. Success rate is reasonably good, especially on junior fleets (717, 220, 73N, 320).

To switch aircraft you'll have to wait at least 12 months, at which point you can break your 24-month seat lock to bid to a different aircraft in a different base that doesn't fly the aircraft you're sitting in. The remainder of your seat lock gets tagged on to the new seat lock for training to a new aircraft.

 

Thank you all for the excellent responses! I really appreciate the feedback. 737 would be a great choice as i know training would probably be a lot simpler than an Airbus for me (I'd imagine). All together great points and I guess I'll have to see the available choices when my class date is called. Commuting for a few months would definitely be subpar.. but I assume wouldn't be the end of the world. Definitely would like the available OT pay to help bridge the transition and upgrade as soon as possible would be a factor too (In DTW).

 

Both airplanes have very Gentlemanly initial training courses. You'll be fine either way