A while ago I remember seeing two different random questions in a different forum that I now can't find. They were interesting questions, though, I think they were hypothetical, and I don't think I ever got to read the answers.

(i) Leave of Absence - I think the situation was that the pilot wanted to go to law school (or maybe just get an undergraduate degree, don't remember), and she was wondering how LOAs work--whether they are often granted, for how long, if seniority still holds, other implications.

completely unrelated,
(ii) Type Rating - I think the pilot was employed as an RJ captain at a regional airline. His question was something along the lines of, if I get a type rating for something big (not a 737, I think it was a 767 or maybe even the triple) between the time I quit my regional and am hired at a major that flies a diverse fleet of small and big jets (like UAL/AAL/CAL), and I already have my big airplane type rating (say 767), will they put me, the former RJ captain in an FO slot on the 767 or, say, the 737? I think he was pretty interested in international stuff.

Just some interesting questions I never heard the answers to.

 

1. It varies by company and labor contract

2. It doesn't matter what you type rating you hold - at least at the legacies. They fill the openings by seniroity only.

 

Type ratings without substantial time in type are not worth much in terms of competitiveness. The only exception is SWA which requires a 737 type as a condition of employment.

 

Do you need the 37 type before interview at SWA?

 

Not before the interview, but if you're hired they require it before you start training/indoc as a conditional offer of employment. (Having the type rating definitely affects where you are on the interview list though!)