the seniority list has a ways to go to fully correct itself……..

 

Based on the rumored NB deliveries next year, we haven’t seen anything yet.

 

Agreed, all three of the tails parked at VCV are 2000/2001 vintage 200B aircraft with plenty of frame life left on them. Pretty sure they donated their derated PW-4090s to the 200As to keep them flying right up until they retire in a few years. (I've come across quite a few A models lately with derated PW-4090s). With the PW engine issues and so few A models out there, I suspect there are darn near zero PW-4077 engines available on the secondary market. But enough airlines have bought 200Bs with PW-4090s that I'd expect we could secure a number of them and keep our newer B models viable for quite some time. The more B and C models we can stretch out, the longer the remaining 777 fleet stays viable.

Separate note for SFO777, MNL goes double daily on the 300ER at the end of October (not sure if that's planned as winter seasonal or year round). If year round then I imagine it will mean the end of some SFO777 summer seasonal flying. So, pick up BCN/ZRH/FCO/AMS while you can because some of them may not be coming back next year. Personally, I don't think SYD is going away for SFO777 regardless of 787 premium configs... way too much cargo on that route.

 

you and me Both 😂. I mean I guess except for NK but look how that turned out. I hit year 2 in 3 weeks and can’t believe guys and girls were able to upgrade in a year a few months before I got here. Absolutely wild

 

If you want a CA slot, bid for it.. don’t wait to fly the jet as a FO first…. Our training does a good job getting you trained to fly the jet. When you hit the line, just give yourself some rope to allow the guppy to guppy some and you will be fine.

 

I’m a DEN 737 FO thinking long and hard about these SFO 787 FO vacancies.

I realize commuting sucks, but if I can commute to a line and I’m willing to buy tickets to minimize stress, how will the stress/work/frustration of a 1 leg commute to a widebody trip compare to a typical 3 or 4 day, 4-6 leg trip on the guppy? I assume it would still be easier, but I don’t have much experience crossing that many time zones and commuting while that exhausted.

Then these 25-30 hour layovers in Tokyo or London or Australia sound great, but how much awake time during normal business hours do you get on the typical layover to explore the city and do tourist stuff?

 

You're going to hear a variety of opinions. Hopefully the people who chime in have done both NB and WB schedules here. I have.

It's a completely different airline. Not even a platitude, it really is. If you switch to SFO 787, you'll almost never see a reassignment again. You'll always have an MRD on time, and ETOPS inspection will prevent any deferred items being snuck in. No more wheels-up time. The meals are better by an order of magnitude. You'll never wait for a gate again. If there's even a whiff of a delay, you're looking at FRMS add-pay. The radios are silent once you coast out, go ahead and put your Bose A-20s on eBay. You can expense the WiFi you buy when you set up for break in the bunk. International transportation and hotels are generally a whole tier better than domestic.

Yes, crossing 10 time zones in three days, and back again, can induce some whiplash. Just sleep when you're tired. You know what's really tiring? Three legs in a day across three different tail numbers on the NB. Hustling to another gate to get set up again, then having an EDCT into the east coast, and a sketchy van ride on a clapped-out airport shuttle to an 11-hour rest where you'll wake up at odd hours anyway.

It's not for everyone. Nothing ever is, right? Don't sweat the commute. It's 3 times a month, maximum. If you think it's for you, go for it.

 

They are great but it’s not like you’re on vacation. I do Europe mostly and if I do a late departure we get in around 1 to the hotel, I sleep for 4 hours (sometimes more, remember you’ve been up all night minus bunk time)and go have dinner, by the time that’s done it’s closer to 8pm. I stay up late to stay on clock then get a good nights sleep, few hours in the morning then off to work. So even though it’s 24 hours or whatever layover, you’re fun time is a lot less. Look at trips in open time and see what you think your sleep will be like. It does get boring being bunky if you’re junior. I like the layovers for food, culture and some sightseeing, eventually sightseeing drops off.

best advice is make sure you can hold captain at a schedule / seniority you want where you want to be based before you do it, that way you have an escape plan in case you can’t sleep etc etc

 

Always been curious as to the quality of sleep you actually receive on these trips (ie via one of those smart sleep watches). Factor in the 3x trips per month/cumulative effects over several years of WB flying.......

 

WB vs NB is like working for 2 different airlines. Flying WB is much less work, but on the wrong side of your circadian rhythm. NB is a bunch of busy work and hassle, but mostly during your normal rhythm. Keep in mind that the fatigue is very real, it’s cumulative, and it gets worse with age. I would recommend taking the trips that you’d likely be flying and then convert all times to your home time zone, including your commute flights. When you do that you’ll see how long your day really is. I tried it and found that commuting compounds the fatigue issues. Getting to Europe sometimes meant that it was up to 20 hours from my driveway to the layover hotel with a couple of naps thrown in there. As previously mentioned, layovers are more about managing sleep than playing tourist. I didn’t bid it until I could upgrade with the seniority of my choice and I’m glad that I did. It was a great experience, but horribly unhealthy.