Average Upgrade Times?
 

Can anyone give me a ballpark estimate on the average upgrade time to the left seat (Capt) at some of the airlines/cargo carriers for a guy that gets hired with 2500hrs (1500pic/instr) in heavy jets? Particularly I was wondering about FedEx, SWA, UPS, and Cathay Pacific.

Thanks in advance!

P

FedEx=4 years
UPS=9
SWA=5-6
Cathay=Depends

Keep in mind that these are the average times for those upgrading now. The gap from 9/11 until fairly recently will skew the upgrade times for the recent new hires. Also, I can speak for UPS only, but many folks bypass the upgrade for QOL. AT UPS you can work as little as 2 days a month by bidding reserve. Many guys have side businesses and do that. At Cathay I have heard that they base their upgrades on merit. That sounds good until you are bypassed because someone in Hon Kong decides you are not worthy. Almost all US carriers base upgrades on seniority order of when you were hired.

Thanks for the info Lil J.

How does the reserve bid vs line thing work? Sorry for the newbie question but I'm just starting to research my options.

P

A lot of senior guys bid reserve at UPS. Who would not want to get paid to be at home every night? It varies by aircraft though. From what I hear the 757 domestiv guys fly like SWA. Most lines go senior, but that does not preclude guys from choosing reserve. There are plenty of UPS guys who fly less than 75 hours a year and half of that occurs during peak, which is Thanks to Xmas.