I just drop in on this thread once in a while so maybe I missed some of your earlier posts. I might be reading you wrong but this post makes it sound like you are going to move your family to the NY area because that is what you are going to get in the new hire class drop. I WOULD NOT do that unless that is where you really want to live long term. Your last 4 starting with "0" still puts you senior to every guy in every class behind you. It does not condemn you to live somewhere you don't want to be.
With all the hiring and movement at the bottom of the seniority list it is highly likely that you would be able to bid out of NY within a couple months. The only way you might get stuck up there for longer than that is maybe if you are on the 7ER. Even then it looks like the bottom of the list on that plane is going to get pretty junior at other bases also.
There's no guarantee of course but I would bet that anybody going to class in the next several months who gets assigned to NYC against their wishes will not be stuck there for long. There is no freeze if your bid out does not require training. Just commute to NY for a couple months and wait for an AE to get to ATL, DTW, MSP or wherever it is you want to be. West Coast might take longer of course. More senior out there.

I apologize if you were already aware of all that. Just wanted to make sure you are not making a major family decision to move to New York based on a faulty assumption or misunderstanding about how category assignments work. With hiring going on for the foreseeable future, you can bid out of NY fairly quickly.

Just to piggyback...there is no lock on domicile, as long as a spot comes open anywhere else you can bid it. People have even changed bases before they even got out of training. And, it is only a 1 year seat lock your first year (I believe), then you can bid in the next AE, which, as was just mentioned should be happening more frequently with all the expected new hires. So, in theory, you should be able to change aircraft after a year, if you wanted to. BTW...in case you're not familiar, the NE is a pretty expensive place to live/work, especially on new hire pay!

Excellent advise! Depending on timing you might even be able to get a AE to a new base before you finish training.

Have some buds telling me that the May classes are 5th and 12th (so far). Nov 13th hires (uh, CJOs) are getting calls to train for the May 12th class. So, that is where it stands right now. Seems like maybe the rumored April 28th class has not materialized.

I will grudgingly admit this, but DTW takes the seniority silver. Last I saw published, only about %20 of DTW is "local".

Being a large base, there are tons of OT opportunities, and being local = win.

Cost of living isn't anywhere near NYC. I saw some dude selling his crash pad condo for like 24k, and that included the airport car. Granted, that was the depths of the recession, but even if it went up %100, you're still in great shape.

Nu

Know it's been said before, but bears repeating - thanks badgerned for keeping the spreadsheet running.

What is the schedule like during Indoc and new hire, aircraft-specific training? Do you have weekends off, and what are the hours generally during the days? Thanks -

Indoc. 9 days. 8am-5pm, maybe get out a bit earlier some days. M-F, 2 days off, M-Th. Get positive space ticket home and back for weekend. Minimum 7 days off between Indoc & aircraft training, during which you are expected to complete the home study course. Actually ranges from 7 days to 2.5 weeks near as I can tell. Aircraft training is fleet specific but in my case (MD88/90) I'm scheduled for just under a month, generally ~5 days on 2 days off. Again with positive space home for each 2 day period off. They try to get you early periods your last day in the block and late periods your first day back, though no guarantees. They say they're starting most guys on OE 1-2 weeks after their checkride, 717 excepted...but the backlog on that isn't nearly what it was, running around ~1month wait right now.

1. Weekends off? Probably not. Don't count on it.

2. Hours? The sim periods are lettered A thru E.
A is 0500 to 1100
B is 0920 to 1520
C is 1340 to 1940
D is 1800 to 0000
E is 2220 to 0420

Yes, you may be in the sim from 10PM to 4AM. You may be in the sim from 10PM to 4AM on Saturday night. The E periods are only allowed to be used for newhires.
No, there is nothing you can do to influence your sim schedule (that I know of).
Just think of it this way. You are going to be working weekends for a while. If you work weekends while in training, you just got a head start for when you hit the line :)

Food options can get limited on the weekends on VA Avenue. Plan accordingly.

I will be camping out at the DT hotel later this week. Hopefully I will see some of you guys there!



R1