Flight Training - June 2023 - 52

ADVANCED PILOT CAREER PILOT
SWITCH
AND
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BIDDING STRATEGY
THE 'UPGRADE' IS SIMPLY ABOUT WHAT FITS YOU
BY PETER A. BEDELL
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THROUGHOUT THE CAREER OF
an airline pilot there are multiple
opportunities to " upgrade "
via an equipment bid. This is a
somewhat-loaded term because
one pilot's upgrade could be
another pilot's downgrade. A
walk through this fictional scenario
should clear the fog.
John gets hired as a first officer
in the Airbus 319. He flies a
schedule in the United States that
doesn't have much in the way
of international flying, except to
Mexico and Canada. He flies as
many as four legs per day, but
the time between legs isn't paid
because he's paid by the flight
hour. The days can be long and stressful.
John wants to cross oceans in the Boeing
787. The days start later, there's only one
leg, and the destinations are exotic.
Fast forward five years and John is
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still flying as an A319 first officer, but his
seniority is quite good. No longer does he
fly those four-leg days-now it's two legs
at the most. He can score those Caribbean
destinations that were off-limits during his
first few years. With his seniority, John has
a decision to make. He can leave his senior
spot in the right seat or chase that dream
spot in the 787. He will make $50 more
per hour, but his seniority will take a big
hit. Once again, he will be junior and only
capable of getting the less-desirable trips
until he ratchets up the seniority pole.
He notices that his seniority allows
him to hold a captain's slot in his current
Airbus. Being a captain is nice; you make
the ultimate decision and you set the tone
and pace for the crew that you manage.
Plus, the compensation is $100 per hour
higher than his current pay. But John's
mind harks back to his time as a junior
first officer when he was flying four legs
per day with ho-hum layovers.
What would you do? Perhaps you
have a young family at home and being
present as much as possible is of primary
importance. In this business, seniority is
everything. Do you want to secure vaca52
FLIGHT TRAINING JUNE 2023
tions during major holidays when your
kids are out of school? Only the higherseniority
pilots score those premium dates.
What if you're not into blazing the
traditional-family trail? Let's say John is
single or married with no kids or pets and
his spouse loves to travel, too. Maybe it's
John's time to try on that 787.
Fast forward one year and John isn't
very happy. He likes the higher pay, is
amazed by the high-tech 787, and loves
the layovers and easy start/finish times of
his trips. The problem is, he can't seem to
sleep well on the airplane. On a 16-hour
flight from New York to Beijing he sleeps
maybe 20 minutes during his rest breaks.
After he gets home, he is a wreck and
spends most of his off days reacclimating
himself to his home time zone. On the
next available bid, John sees that he is now
senior enough to hold a good schedule as
captain on his old Airbus. It will allow him
to score the higher pay and hold a decent
schedule. Most important, he can stay
within three hours of his home time zone.
This example describes a few factors at
play when considering upgrade opportunities
at an airline. Bottom line? It's really all
about what suits you best. Sometimes you
don't know what that is until you try it. FT
PETER A. BEDELL is a pilot for a major airline and
co-owner of a Cessna 172 and Beechcraft Baron.
DOUGLAS B. JONES
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