Your last 4 of your SSN. 9999 is most senior 0000 is most Junior. They have tried various other methods over the years but this is what they are currently using.

SSN? Is that social security number ?
So basically random.
So I read NYC is easy base to get in is that correct?
And fleet can you jump in to longhaul as a new hire?
I have NG experience but hoping to commute to UK for a year or 2 . Kids want to stay until high school.

It is random but at least going in, you have some sort of idea. The NYC aircraft are usually available but several of our recent classes have gotten all west coast. Couple of folks who live in ATL got sent to LAX.

The 73N is on most drops, it just depends on the base.

I understand keeping the kids in school but don't have any experience with international commuting.

It’s 500+/- a year for the next 8-10 years. I heard someone cite a (supposedly) verified figure that only 25% of pilots who are on the list at 60 are still actively flying to 65 (either due to early retirement, NBC SIC, SLI, CP, whatever). Don’t know if that’s true. I have seen a graph personally that the % of those on disability goes up dramatically after 60. A bored person could probably figure all that out with a few seniority lists.

But if it’s even half that number, say 50% who don’t last to 65, I honestly don’t see all that many more satying to 67, much less 70 as that curve continues to steepen. Some will stay, of course, but there is a law of diminishing returns at play here. There are a lot of valid differences to now vs the 60->65 change already cited here.

Honestly, as time has gone on, I’ve gone from against it 100%, to on the fence, to maybe even lean a little towards it. Once we are through the transition, we will probably all be glad it’s an option. And with record hiring, now is the time to do it (vs a downturn like the 65 change). And, those with a legit disability will have more years of 50% FAE (which is why the company is against it, of course).

The vast majority would vote to extend the age........






It's just the timing of it that creates a quandary. They would vote yes, if it were implemented 6 months prior to them hitting the current age limit.:cool:

And you're right (IMO), if it were to change, the most palatable time would be when your're understaffed and hiring great guns during large mandatory times.

Honestly as time goes on, I’ve gone from against it 100%, to against it 100%, to against it 110%. :)

As is your right… It’s out of both our hands, I think.;)


What if, this would totally never happen, but what if… after 60 there was a new PBS instruction of lowering Min credit to 50% of the ALV. How many of you would take advantage, to suddenly only have to do a couple trips a month? Semi-retire with some other guardrails? Sounds like something I would genuinely enjoy. Like I said, it would never happen, but it’s an interesting thought experiment to “offset” an age increase.

As a pre-indoc new hire, I have been reading as much as I can to get a handle on what my next few years will look like. I need some help understanding how the process works to switch bases. I am unfortunately a SSN lottery loser, with a 0 to start, so I am going to get whatever is left over. My concern is that I could get stuck on the west coast, but I was under the impression that as soon as there was a spot that I was senior enough to hold in ATL that someone upgrades or moves out of, it was mine to bid for immediately. Last night I read a post from 2018 that made it sound like I would have to wait for the next AE, then something called conversion and that it could be up to a year or more past when I had the seniority to hold the base. Any clarification to this process would be greatly appreciated. I've got some young kids that will prob not enjoy seeing a parent disappear for a year or two.

There are two ways to move bases. One is on the same aircraft. You can bid to change bases on the same aircraft as soon as there is an AE after indoc. When the company wants to actually move you to the new base (convert) is pretty open to their whims, but they still must convert people in seniority order who are making the same move that you are. The standard conversion window is 150 days, so indoc + time to next AE + 150 days is the longest you’d have to wait to transfer bases on a normal AE. This of course assumes that you can hold a transfer on the first AE. The company can do some AEs with longer conversion windows but those have more stipulations and it seems like the company is aiming for a monthly-ish AE schedule so those will almost entirely be 150 days.

It gets more complicated if you need to change aircraft to move bases. So say you live in ATL but get awarded SLC 220. The 220 is not in ATL so you’d have to change planes to hold ATL. In that case, on the first AE after your 1 year anniversary you can bid to change planes. Whatever of your new hire 24 month seat lock remains will be added to your new 24 month lock for changing planes. You can also do this if the plane you are on is in your desired base but your cannot hold it with an unrestricted bid in. So say you get NYC 765. You bid with no qualifiers to ATL 765, but you cannot hold it, in this case you can be awarded a new aircraft. Again this is only after 1 year, and the new seat lock stacks on the reminder of your old one.

For this reason, on your class drop, you want to prioritize anything offered in your desired base, then any fleet in other bases that are also in your desired base. Avoid at all costs any fleet does not have a presence in your desired base. This does not affect the 737 or 320 as they are in every base. Be very careful about the 220, 717, and 757. I’m assuming new hires will not be able to hold any WB fleet after this AE.

Got it, thanks! As a 0 SSN, it seems I am reasonably guaranteed 717 or 220, and I am prepared for a NYC 220 for a while, just absolutely terrified of a west coast anything.
The monthly AE sounds much better, I was thinking that they were biannual for some inane reason. This will be my first non-91 job, so it's all a bit of a whirl. I don't mind some suffering in the short term for the long term benefits.
What else is there to worry about with a bid to the 717/757 considering they are both relatively junior in ATL?