MCO Base Timelines
 

Hello all,

Tampa is home and looking to settle down there soon and start training with UAL. I've noticed that MCO is a senior base, but also looking at some seniority numbers being posted in other threads (I think FO in MCO now is around 16,500ish).

Trying to learn the system with friends but question: what is the timeline right now for someone being able to bid and hold MCO FO if that is where they want to remain the rest of their career? Trying my best to use the search function and understand the meaning behind the numbers. I've heard it can be a few months but also can be years. Just trying to do some family planning is all. Appreciate the answers and any guidance. Thank you and looking forward to joining the team shortly!

As of right this moment, less than a year probably. Can't say specifically as there are too many variables.

Thanks for the reply. I've been hearing similar. Also hearing about everything can change quickly. Do people still recommend just bid the metal you want to fly as soon as you can to eventually get to the base you want that has it? that is the plan for now. Will commute as required until ideally can hold FO in MCO. I've seen and heard that MCO is very senior for CA though unfortunately, so not sure how long I will be an FO but that is fine. Thanks for the reply.

If you want MCO, definitely try to bid the 737 in indoc since that’s the only fleet we currently have in Florida. The transition from say EWR 737 FO to MCO 737 FO is quick and painless, but if you wind up on the Bus or the 756, you’re going to be equipment locked out for a couple years (bidding CA would release you from that, but MCO CA is too senior for that to be a realistic strategy).

Most junior pilot to be awarded MCO FO on the recent vacancy was a 162XX seniority number, which is about 1000 from the bottom of the list these days. Figure that’s about six months worth of hiring, then tack on a few months for your lateral to activate, and I’d say with medium confidence that you’d be flying out of MCO (as an FO) within a year of starting indoc.

MCO CA currently looks like it’s going to be a long time.

25 FO seats added in MCO on the newest vacancy that opened today.

No CA seats. Anyone smarter than me care speculate why?

The kind of people that bid MCO CA are generally FL locals that decided driving to MCO to be a 737 CA was a better deal than commuting to fly something else. They’re probably not going to turn around six months or a year later and change their minds and bid something else. To me, it’s a textbook case of a base where seniority is going to progress slooowly, with more of that movement coming from retirements (vs. bidding out) than your average 737 base.

Makes sense. No growth just replacement. Thanks.

Great info about MCO. Thanks everyone for the comments.
I've got an interview coming up with UAL and am mainly interested based on MCO. Copy all that it's probably doable in 6-9 months and Capt is a longer look.
What's the flying like out of MCO? Better or worse than other 737 bases?

The flying varies from month to month, but we see a little of everything. I haven't noticed a lot of international layovers that seem to be more prevalent in EWR or IAH. Also, the mix of TPA and MCO trips seems to vary a little every month.

Reviving this a bit. Anyone have any ideas on MCO growth? Some of us former Yellow 'Bus drivers really don't want to leave FL, and commuting to EWR is getting old fast. I know the TPA terminal is supposed to be done in '28 given no hurricane or other setbacks haha.

At a MCO union meeting a few months ago, someone from network planning attended and said they will not be adding any spots in Orlando for the rest of 2024, however they are allowing backfills. Focus right now is EWR and SFO. Expect MCO vacancies in early 2025. We are due for a mother-of-all-bid any month now…

lol. We’ve been waiting for that since 1988.

I mean .. 60 WB CA vacancies isn't anything to sneeze at...

Retirement coverage. We’ve had much bigger bids. Until/if Boeing gets its s4it together, don’t expect much.

I hope I'm wrong, but the company said they don’t expect notable growth in any satellite bases for 2025, so I wouldn't expect any movement besides the occasional backfill.

Company is very pleased with MCO though (after the initial complaining to the C suite emails that effectively halted any growth). Probably won't see any major growth in 2025 either (primarily due to delivery delays, upgauging from 737 during busy times, 737s now needed for summer 2025 expansion plans) and possibly 2026. Best guess is not much movement for 1-2 years. As others said, mostly backfills. Waiting on C terminal Phase 2 expansion as well for any potential MCO growth.

I've also heard that MCO is hungry for more non-LCCs in Terminal C because the vendors there want more disposable income guests walking through the concourse, and they've made that known...

Sounds like we need a 787 base so Hudson News can pay their rent.

Currently an MCO/TPA guy ,honestly I wouldn’t come here thinking you’re gonna hold the base for at least 2/3 years or longer. We do have FO’s (very few) leaving to upgrade in ewr. I just flew with one last week, but that’s just a spot here and there.

sadly there is no growth at the moment, it could change over night if Boeing ever got their product together but I wouldn’t count on it. There is also a ton of pilots already here that are waiting for an mco spot to open.

best of luck

There's only one LCC in C (B6) and the rest are international, and for what B6 is paying in CPEs MCO should have more than enough to be subsidizing vendors. Also the layout of C with all the vendors in the atrium means they get all the walkthrough traffic.

I mean that's gotta be what it is

UA plans $300 million investment at MCO:
 

United Airlines plans $300 million investment at Orlando International Airport:

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/...angar-mco.html

Pay wall. Got a TLDR?

before any pilots get too excited….its for a maintenance facility expansion.

Any expansion is good news nowadays! TK mentioned MCO will be a pilot expansion in regards to hiring. Just the messenger...

In Unity...

Doesn't mean anything until at least the LHR van driver corroborates the information.

agreed , any growth is a good thing even if not for pilots directly. Simply shows the commitment to the hub.

I have a CJO and hopefully starting in the next couple months. My goal is to get to the MCO base. How long will it take to get there and hold a line? How often are people being assigned trips on reserve out of TPA? How long to hold captain there? Thanks!

Looks like zero awards into MCO/TPA on the last vacancy bid in either seat. Of the FOs who are already there, the bottom two got in via base trades (which is no longer possible as the plug), with the most junior currently about 900 from the bottom. The most junior to get in via a vacancy is about 1200 off the bottom today, so I'd say plan on maybe a year?

Left seat is a different story. Bottom CA is roughly 5500 numbers up from the bottom, so it's gonna be a while. Crystal ball is hazy as usual, but it could be a decade for someone hired today.

The top 1/3 or so of the CA list there can comfortably hold WB CA in any base within easy commute, not a single one bid out on the latest big WB bid. I’d say a decade (or more) is probably realistic unless they grow the base more or add another BES.

A lot of those guys are also former WB CAs as well who bidded back to 73 CA for MCO as well… It’s gonna take a while for anyone looking for MCO to get in now even as a FO…. The time to get into MCO was 2022 before the new contract.

may a different airline? Because MCO wasn’t a base in 2022.

You're both sort of right. The first vacancy where you could bid into MCO was in Dec 2022, but the base didn't actually open up until 2023.

December 2022 was the first vacancy right?

fair enough

Latest LCP meeting with Kirby said that MCO will see expansion and WB international flying as soon as they get the planes to do so. It’s up to Boeing at this point to start cranking out the planes. But short of a black swan event, you will see considerable MCO growth in 1-2 years. WB will go super senior even on the FO side, but if you are comfortable driving to work as a 737 FO, I would bet a new hire would be able to hold it fairly easy. The trips have a pretty nice mix of flying and as long as you can make it to MCO in 2.5 hours, a short call on reserve to TPA is essentially you get there when you get there.

When was said LCP meeting?

It was a few weeks ago. The big question mark is what ramifications a potential NK BK could have. It’s looking more and more like a forgone conclusion.