CAL had new hire 777 F/Os in late 2005 and early 2006. :p

To be a bit more accurate, there were "New Hires" put into the right seat of the B777 as recent as......Wait for it......January 2007.

With no proof on hand, my gut tells me, that speaks to how bad CAL reserve must have been that no one wanted to bid bottom 777 FO or possibly no one wanted to move to EWR or IAH from where they were living currently.

Suffice to say UAL has NEVER had new hires go directly to a 777 position. That tells you something about the cultural and contractual differences.

Not true on the CAL side. I know the FO. Was available in training and awarded. In our precious CBA, I've never heard of a 777 FO complain about reserve. They were always well staffed and did not experience the 737 and 757 reserve woes. That said, all this is about choices that movement will bring to all of us.

I've flown with many captains on the CAL side who have never flown anything but a 737! With most of the equipment banded together in nearly identical pay bands (767=747 right?), there isn't much incentive to move if you are based where you want to be.

WHOA! ... Get with the program ... pay banding was/is only about an SLI strategy ... Never mind that CAL has done it for quite a while in the past and proposed it for the next contract BEFORE there even was a MAD. Some people just can't be reasoned with.

Joe-

Just the facts to his "high-lip question". One of the LOR's that I wrote back in late 2006 happened to be one of the Pilot's who got assigned that WB slot back in early 2007. Stating the obvious, he said sitting reserve up in EWR as a new hire on the B777 was very nice as compared to sitting the same fiddle on the B737.

Albeit, there wasn't a mass of new hires on the Triple, but to help "LAX" wrap his mind about the issue.....it has happened 'recently'.

Actually, to be clear, it wasn't reserve rules that made the 777 go so junior on the FO side. Being reserve on the 777 was far different than the 756 or 737 as has been mentioned.

What drove the junior FO staffing on the 777 and the 756 allowing new hires into those seats was that was during the time of DH pay concessions. DH pay was cut in 2005 to 50% which eventually worked up to 75% then snapped back to 100%. That is why the last new hire FO in the 777 was back in January 2007. The snap back to full DH pay occurred soon after.

For clarification, CAL would work a pilot(Bunkie) on legs required by FAA, paying flight pay and Deadhead pilot in coach on none required legs at 1/2 pay. Is that what you are saying? If so, it's a good thing the JCBA eliminated this practice. Another get for the CAL side.

So it happened once in 2006 which is "recently" somehow. But the only time, which further proves pilots would rather fly the widebody airplanes instead of the 737s.

How many pilots outside the top 1,000 are flying the 777 at CAL I wonder? They all have seniority to hold 737 Capt, so it must not be that great.