Thanks for the info.

Immediately. Once you are done with OE you will be on reserve in all fleets at all bases.

I was wondering the same for ORD and IAH. Starting soon, currently live in ORD but contemplating moving to IAH and would like to see what I can expect as career progression at each of these bases. Would highly appreciate if someone can share this info.

ORD NB FO line holder
ORD WB FO reserve
ORD WB FO line holder
ORD NB Captain
ORD NB Captain line holder
ORD WB Captain reserve
ORD WB Captain line holder

IAH NB FO line holder
IAH WB FO reserve
IAH WB FO line holder
IAH NB Captain
IAH NB Captain line holder
IAH WB Captain reserve
IAH WB Captain line holder

well, I’m not going to put in all the effort for each of these, but I’ll just say, in the past 6 months, both ORD and IAH have gotten more junior than EWR on the 737, which was absurd to think about even 1 year ago.

ORD doesn’t have the 777. They’re both pretty quick for NB FO right now, but CA is going to be a while for a line. For reserve, there are unfilled NB CA spots in ORD. I don’t recall if there are any for IAH.

In both places, WB line holder (CA and FO) is a long ways off.

I don't understand the "how long to hold reserve on the..." questions. Reserve is what you do as a new hire until you are senior enough to get a schedule. This is true for all bases and equipment. A more useful question would be "how long will I be on reserve on the...." That answer is different for every jet and every base, but as of now coastal bases are 8-10 months while the other bases are a bit longer. WB tends towards years on reserve, but EWR 777 can get a schedule within a few months. This answer expires in 60 days. A year ago EWR 737 FO was just a few months. Now it's 8-9 months.


You can bid CA after a year. There are unfilled NB CA positions at most bases today. However, a year from now there *should* be a new contract, the effects of opening MCO and LAS will be known, and China should have opened back up. If the new contract fixes reserve rules and bumps NB CA pay all the senior WB & NB FOs will pile into NB CA and upgrades will go back to being measured in years. If you haven't been hired yet, you will likely have to wait longer than a year to be a CA, and that's a good thing.


Asking when you can hold WB CA won't get you a useful answer. It's measured in decades. I don't see any post-merger (2010) hires that are 777 or 787 CAs.

Thank you both for the answers.

Yes that's true, I was just keeping up with the format but are more interested in knowing how long have people recently stayed on reserve on NB as FO particularly for both of these bases. I'm looking to bid 320 or 737. Class starts soon. Preference is 320 but at the end will end up bidding for what allows me to hold a line quicker and get a better seniority progression in BES.

Not all domiciles on the WB can be held as a new hire, so it was a valid question as to when you can bid WB Reserve. Also, ORD has the 787, so there are WB positions there unlike what someone posted above. These numbers below are the DOH for the Feb bid month. Any NB selection in training will get you to a line in a timeframe that is historically very quick and can change month to month.


ORD NB FO line holder: Aug 22
ORD WB FO reserve: Mar 22
ORD WB FO line holder: Apr 15
ORD NB Captain: Sep 21
ORD NB Captain line holder: Apr 16
ORD WB Captain reserve: Sep 97
ORD WB Captain line holder: Feb 95


IAH NB FO line holder: Aug 22
IAH WB FO reserve: Jul 22 (base trade-vacancy bid awards about 4-5 years)
IAH WB FO line holder: Apr 13
IAH NB Captain: Aug 21
IAH NB Captain line holder: Jul 14
IAH WB Captain reserve: Dec 97
IAH WB Captain line holder: May 90

In keeping with the title of the thread, I should've stated my question better. I really don't care if I hold a line or am on reserve. All I want is to be in DEN after indoc/OE; . What airplane will let me be based in DEN the fastest.

It’s currently a toss up, but the 737 is the growing fleet and most likely to get you what you want. It’s also the fleet I would guess most people bid off of

No way to say. It’s not unthinkable You could get either one in basic indoc. It’s also quite possible either one could take six months, just depending how the bids happened to fall.