New guy here. I'm currently based in EWR on the B756. What are my chances of getting a base trade to IAD anytime soon?
When bidding for vacancy, do I bid 100%?
What's the best way to get the base you want?

I'd appreciate any tips. I really want to switch to IAD.

 

100% means that as soon as a vacancy exists that your seniority can hold as the most junior pilot, you will get it during a vacancy bid award. If all you care about is getting assigned DCA, then bid every category you would be eligible for (WBFO & NBCA). You can also solicit a base trade. As long as you are more senior than someone who has been awarded a vacancy in the DCA756FO category AND there is a DCA756FO that wants to trade, you would be able to essentially swap positions during the base trade window announced in CCS.

 

DAL guy here. On your base trade system....does it just work between two people, or does it need to get posted so that everyone can see it?

 

It has to be posted and a senior guy can cut in and take it if they so desire.

 

It's posted. It's like a vacancy bid in that there are open, close, and award dates (monthly).

One wrinkle in the new contract is that you can't base trade if the trade would result in you being the plug in that base. I haven't a clue why someone thought that policy was a good one...

 

Not arguing for or against it, but the logic is to prevent junior pilots from entering a category that they couldn't normally hold by coming in through the backdoor while more senior pilots are left out. Take a look at the IAH 777 CA roster, for example. The most junior person currently in that seat who got there via a vacancy bid is around #2500, but there are 8 pilots junior to him, all of whom got in via a base trade, whose seniority numbers go all that way up past #4000. If you're the #2600 guy and you've been waiting 10+ years to try to get into that seat, you might be upset that people junior to you are getting there first and filling those potential vacancies by "artificially" getting on the equipment first and then sliding over. The new policy still allows for base trading, but it prevents the #5000 guy from bidding SFO 777 CA and then base trading back into IAH while the #3000 guy is patiently sitting on the sidelines.

Of course, under the old policy, the more senior pilots could pull off that same maneuver. But there's risk there, and many of them don't want to be commuters for an uncertain period of time, so this was put in place to make sure that those entering a category have the seniority to hold it "naturally" rather than working an end-around.

 

Makes sense. So, I'm assuming that the trade is only valid between the two bases, and that a senior pilot in a 3rd base is out of luck?

 

right. It’s between two bases. One for one swap

 

Personally, I prefer the new policy—keeps everything above board.

 

So basically if your seniority number is better than 16149 you can trade. If not you'll have to go through the vacancy system.
Good luck!