Basically 75/76 Domestic will give you fastest seniority progression. Everything else will be slower.

 

Does the whale have similar layovers? I understand the 74 won’t fly night sort in Europe.

 

74 lays over in CGN a lot. Usually 24ish hours, but some lines have up to ~70 hour layovers. Occasionally EMA or STN, never that long. That's pretty much it for Yurop, barring some weird mil charter, etc.

 

I thought 75/76 Dom progression would be pretty quick too, however, looking at the latest mock system bid has the bottom dozen new hires bidding from SDF 75/76 over to the Z. I’m not sure what the draw is…they’d be holding lines in the next bid or two, now they’ll be reserve for a much longer time.

 

Progression may be quicker, but if you don’t like any of the lines it doesn’t matter. I found my reserve callouts on the Z to be better than the domestic lines I could hold. You can also soon hold VTO and VTOR lines that (particularly as a non commuter) are not bad at all and adjustable through trading. That being said, I am very happy there are so many people willing to fly domestic, I will buy you a beer (at breakfast) whenever we cross paths.

 

Problem with Z is not the international trips (although that can be debated), it’s the length of the trips and inability to control which days you work if you need particular days off, plus if you are in the bottom 50% you will most likely be doing mostly Asia, which some may like the continued harassment and lockdowns in some places, others most likely not. Domestic flying is not that great, agreed, but you will be able to have more control of your days off and spend more time at home (if you value that), more commercials, better vacations, etc, with a faster seniority progression.

It comes down to what is important to the individual. Some people don’t need specific days off or vacations, like the 12-13 trips, don’t mind the sodomizing received in some Asian places, the 48 hour hotel room lockdowns, etc. Others like staying close to home, don’t mind working 8-9 crappy nights a month, being home every day doing turns (not an option for Z guys), etc. But one thing is for certain, comparing two similar seniority persons, domestic gives you better control of your schedule. It may be crappy flying, but better control of amount of work, weekends and days off. For someone with young kids, this may be more appealing than going around the world for 2 weeks, no right or wrong answer.

 

Now that’s funny. Request DENIED, insufficient reserve coverage.

 

Of all the reasons I get for trip trade denials, that one never seems to pop up. It must be more common on other fleets.

 

Well, other than a legal issue (rest, reg, conflict, etc) I can’t think of any other reason a trade gets denied. Talk to your colleagues. In your little bubble it may not be an issue, but it is a top complaint the Union gets and high on their list for negotiations.

 

It would be neat if there was a way to enhance the ability to trade between crewmembers. Features added to Trip Board? Maybe a way add a contact feature to your posted trip. Or fill out a form of trades you would be willing to do?