Retirements are easy to predict, growth is hard.

The ride a late ‘23 hire will have is really dependent on growth. Could be great, could be merely good.

But if you can be happy as a mid-seniority nbca or wbfo, the water is still fine.

I have heard at AA lots of wide body FO never upgrade to narrow body CA. The international QOL flying is very attractive to them.

They don’t have “global reserve” and their commuter clause is rock solid. WB trips are easily commutable at AA and they can list for the jumpseat 8 days prior, whoever lists first gets it, seniority does not apply. It’s so good they have pilots who commute to WB FO over holding NB CA in the base they live in. I’m sure an AA pilot could swoop in and tell you more on why it’s so good.

Nice to see someone else using ‘OBE’. ‘Overcome By Events’ happens often when plans are laid out.

The Newark airport has a few issues, no doubt. If one is based there, seat progression seems as good as any base, better than most.

As a widebody FO I am in the same boat, I love the flying, overnights etc. I sleep well anywhere anytime so that helps. There is a part of me that thinks where the extra money can go if I was a captain, but I also know I’ll be gone at least 5 days more a month at my seniority

Isn’t it nice to have a mix, so whatever floats your boat. (Provided you have seniority to hold it.)

I flew with a NB CA who wants to not only give up NB CA but also bypass WB FO in base to commute to a different WB base just because the trips were better and commuting is so easy (relatively speaking). I thought that person was crazy for that, but still

Seniority doesn’t apply for the jumpseat? That sounds terrible. One mans trash I guess.

I would take WB FO over NB CA any day. Work one 3 day a week in Denver(all we have are 3 day trips on the 78 in Denver) or 4 days a week on the NB? Easy choice.

It's a bit worse for the really senior guys, but it lets you plan, have peace of mind and it is way less stressful. Unless you are #1 at UA, you can't ever truly be sure you'll get the seat. Non-rev works in a similar way (time of check in). Don't have to compete with 50 year FA's and GA's whose longevity a pilot could never beat.

If UAL ever followed suit or at least copy and pasted DAL’s JS policy (seniority doesn’t apply within the 24 hour window) you’ll realize how terrible your take on this subject was. You don’t know what you don’t know, and my friend you don’t know.

The piece of mind of essentially listing for your own unpaid DH to work (if it’s available, it’s immediately yours) makes commuting significantly less stressful.